The United Nations human rights office has condemned the increasing frequency of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on schools in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, carried out "with apparent disregard for the high rate of civilian fatalities." The condemnation follows dozens of IDF attacks on schools-turned-shelters in July, and horrific early Saturday morning strikes that killed up to 100 people.
In the latest round of strikes on schools in the early hours of Saturday during dawn prayers, a mosque inside the Al Tabae'en school was struck by the IDF at least three times, with initial reports of at least 93 Palestinians killed, including 11 children and 6 women - one of the worst single attacks on civilians since the start of the war.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Saturday that most of the dead appeared to have been inside the mosque as they prayed. In addition, dozens of others were reportedly seriously injured, with the majority being children, women and the elderly.
“This is at least the 21st strike on a school, each serving as a shelter, that the UN human rights office has recorded since July 4. These strikes have resulted in at least 274 fatalities, including women and children,” the statement said.
Despite the IDF's assurances that all measures are taken to avoid harm to civilians, the repeated targeting of shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in areas where populations have been forced to move, and the consistent and predictable impact on civilians, imply a failure to strictly adhere to the obligations required by International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attacks.
Schools, UN facilities, places of worship and other civilian infrastructure are protected by IHL and are not military targets. Warring parties must not use schools and other civilian facilities for military or combat purposes. They are required to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times.
Furthermore, these systematic attacks on schools come in the context of more than 90 percent of Gaza's population being displaced, while the Israeli military continues to blow up residential buildings and restrict the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid.
According to the UN, up to 1.9 million people - or 90 percent of the population - are internally displaced throughout the Gaza Strip, including people who have been repeatedly displaced - some as many as 10 times over the past months. More than 85 percent of Gaza has been placed under evacuation orders or declared a "no-go zone" by Israeli forces, confining 1.9 million IDPs to about 15 percent of the tiny territory.
The IDPs face indescribable horrors after 10 months of hostilities, including multiple forced displacements, the rapid spread of disease, and continued denial of access to basic necessities. For many, schools are a last resort to find some shelter and possible access to food and water.
In most incidents, the Israeli military claims that the schools were being used by Palestinian armed groups and that they took measures to reduce harm to civilians.
“While the co-location by armed groups of military objectives with civilians or the use of the presence of civilians with the objective of shielding a military objective from attack constitute violations of IHL, it does not negate Israel’s obligation to comply strictly with IHL, including the principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution when carrying out military operations,” OHCHR said.
As the occupying power, Israel has an obligation to provide basic humanitarian needs, including safe shelter, to the population it has forcibly displaced.
“Every day civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict amidst horror, displacement and endless suffering,” Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a statement Saturday in response to Saturday's attacks.
“The cost in lives of this war is evident with every passing day as we have witnessed yet another devastating strike on a school sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians, with dozens of fatalities.”
Wennesland urged all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians, to conclude an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, and to implement its provisions without delay and without conditions, in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2735.
According to media reports, the Israeli government has been torpedoing a ceasefire agreement since the war began, fearing that the government will lose power if the guns fall silent and that senior members of the government - including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - will be held accountable for their alleged crimes in Israeli and international courts.
In a statement Saturday the humanitarian organization Islamic Relief Worldwide said it was horrified at the “massacre of dozens of civilians at one of the school shelters” where it has been distributing daily hot meals to displaced families.
“Today’s attack at Al Tabae'en school in Gaza City is the deadliest on a school shelter yet, with reports of 80-100 people killed and many more injured as Israeli missiles tore through classrooms and the prayer room during dawn Fajr prayers,” the humanitarian organization said.
“Around 2,000 young children, women and men have been sheltering at the school after the Israeli military ordered them to leave their homes. The nearest hospital is overwhelmed with casualties, with many badly burnt or bleeding severely from shrapnel wounds, and it does not have the medical supplies to treat them all.”
The aid agency said it was horrified but no longer shocked by such massacres as Israel continued to bomb shelters almost daily with complete impunity and disregard for international law. According to the UN, as of early July, 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged in the war, followed by dozens of IDF attacks on schools throughout July.
“The international community has completely failed the people of Gaza. World leaders must use all the pressure they can to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the constant forced displacement and attacks on fleeing civilians, and ensure accountability for such actions,” Islamic Relief said.
According to Gaza health officials, more than 39,700 people have been killed and more than 91,700 wounded in Israeli attacks on the enclave since the war broke out in October 2023. More than 10,000 others are feared buried under the rubble in Gaza and are presumed dead. Among the confirmed dead are at least 284 aid workers, 207 UN personnel, 500 health workers and 166 journalists.
Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment of much of the Gaza Strip continues, resulting in increasing civilian deaths, maiming, injuries, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure. In recent days, tens of thousands of people have been ordered to move once again, with the Israeli military forcing people into small areas that are extremely overcrowded and plagued by hunger and the spread of diseases.
As Israel's war in Gaza has claimed an estimated 50,000 lives, evidence keeps mounting that Israeli government and military officials are responsible for widespread war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of IHL committed in the enclave.
These include collective punishment of civilians, use of starvation as a method of warfare, denial of humanitarian aid, indiscriminate killing of civilians, targeting of civilians, disproportionate attacks, forced displacement, torture, enforced disappearances and other atrocity crimes.
In May, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced that he had requested arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza. Arrest warrants are being sought for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel said in a report released in June that Israeli government and military authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations and attacks in Gaza since October 7.
The Commission found that the Israeli authorities were responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity.
The Commission also concluded that the crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution of Palestinian men and boys, murder, forcible transfer, and torture and inhuman or cruel treatment had been committed.
For more than ten months, an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe has been unfolding in Gaza, with people dying from widespread violence and starvation, and the threat of famine looming. Leading UN officials have called the situation in Gaza "apocalyptic," "hell on earth," "beyond catastrophic," and said that the humanitarian community is "running out of words to describe what is happening in Gaza".
The entire population of the Gaza Strip is experiencing acute hunger and is at risk of famine. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for Gaza, released in June, shows that 96 percent of the population faces acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse, with nearly half a million people in catastrophic conditions.
The blockade of aid, the hostile environment created by the war - including attacks on aid workers - and the breakdown of civil order posed enormous challenges to any viable humanitarian response to the enormous needs of the population.
The United Nations and non-governmental aid groups accuse Israel of closing most of the border crossings into Gaza - and preventing life-saving aid from reaching the more than 2 million people in dire need.
International Humanitarian Law requires Israel to ensure that the basic needs of the population of Gaza are met. Among other things, it must ensure that Gaza receives sufficient water, food, medical supplies and other basic necessities to enable the population to survive.
However, since Israel imposed a full siege on the Gaza Strip on October 9, the amount of aid entering the enclave has never been sufficient to meet the needs on the ground. For more than ten months, Israel has failed to provide or even facilitate the delivery of essential goods to the people of the besieged territory.
Meanwhile, Israel's closest allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, continue - in apparent violation of international law - to provide political and military support for a war against civilians characterized by grave war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces, as well as support for Israel's continued occupation and unlawful presence in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The ICJ concluded that Israel's continued presence in the OPT is unlawful and that Israel has an obligation to end its illegal presence there as rapidly as possible.
According to the ICJ advisory opinion, all states and international organizations, including the UN, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation resulting from Israel's unlawful presence in the OPT and not to provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's continued presence in the OPT.
Further information
Full text: The UN Human Rights Office condemns Israeli Defense Force’s Strike on Al Tabae’en School in Gaza City, UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, press statement, released August 10, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-un-human-rights-office-condemns-israeli-defense-forces-strike-al-tabaeen-school-gaza-city
Full text: Islamic Relief condemns attack at Gaza school where it distributes food, Islamic Relief Worldwide, press release, published August 10, 2024
https://islamic-relief.org/news/islamic-relief-condemns-attack-at-gaza-school-where-it-distributes-food/