Israel Bombs Another U.N.-Run School in Gaza, a Day After Strike on School Killed 33

The conflict in Gaza has intensified with another tragic incident as an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N.-run school in northern Gaza on Friday. 

The strike resulted in the deaths of three individuals, according to Palestinian emergency officials. 

This attack follows closely on the heels of a similar airstrike on a school in central Gaza just a day earlier, which claimed the lives of at least 33 people, including 12 women and children.

The Israeli military defended both airstrikes, asserting that Hamas militants were operating from within the schools. 

However, these claims remain unverified by independent sources, including the Associated Press. 

In the aftermath of Thursday’s attack, Israel released a list of 1

7 militants it said were killed, but hospital records confirmed only nine of those names. 

Alarmingly, one of the names listed was an 8-year-old boy, Shaheen Mahmoud Ibrahim Abu Sharif, raising serious questions about the accuracy of Israel's claims.

International pressure on Israel is mounting, urging the country to minimize civilian casualties in its ongoing military operations in Gaza, which have now entered their eighth month. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to return to the Middle East next week in an effort to advance stalled cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

The U.N. has also reacted strongly, with Secretary-General António Guterres set to list both Israel and Hamas as violators of children's rights in conflict in an upcoming report to the Security Council. 

This move has sparked outrage from Israel, which vehemently opposed its inclusion in the report.

The humanitarian toll of the conflict is devastating. 

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that over 36,730 people have been killed since the war began, though this count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. 

The blockade and ongoing conflict have also led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essential supplies, with U.N. agencies warning that over a million people in Gaza could face extreme hunger by mid-July.

israel fighter jets bomb the vicinity of a school sheltering displaced families in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. DON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE pic.twitter.com/9fGqxrT2Hl

— Askary🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@the_esposo) April 22, 2024

The airstrike on Friday targeted the Asmaa School in the Shati refugee camp, another facility run by the U.N. agency UNRWA, which cares for Palestinian refugees. 

The Israeli military claimed the attack was aimed at a shipping container on the school grounds used by Hamas militants. 

Palestinian Civil Defense officials reported three fatalities but did not provide details on their identities.

More than 180 U.N. facilities, primarily schools, have been damaged during Israel's ongoing military campaign. 

These schools have become shelters for tens of thousands of people displaced by the conflict. 

Israel maintains that Hamas uses these civilian infrastructures to shield its fighters and operations, a claim that remains contentious and unverified by neutral parties.

As the international community watches closely, the situation in Gaza remains dire and fraught with uncertainty. 

The ongoing violence and its impact on civilians, especially children, underscore the urgent need for a sustainable resolution to the conflict.