By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli occupation forces conducted a deadly assault on the Khalil Oweida School in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, early Sunday morning. 

The school had been serving as a shelter for displaced families fleeing Israel’s genocidal war.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli troops surrounded the facility before unleashing heavy gunfire and artillery shelling directly into the building. 

At least 15 civilians, including women and children, were reportedly killed and many others injured. Survivors described scenes of chaos and devastation, as families struggled to protect their loved ones amidst the onslaught.

Following the assault, Israeli forces forced the remaining occupants to evacuate the site under threats of further violence. Displaced families were directed toward a military checkpoint on Salah al-Din Street, where all men were detained, according to Quds News Network (QNN). 

The Israeli army stormed Khalil Oweida School in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, early today, leaving over 15 civilians killed and multiple others injured as Israeli soldiers opened fire indiscriminately at civilians, according to local sources.

The school, which was serving as a… pic.twitter.com/c3PxJEtfff

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 15, 2024

This incident is the latest in a series of attacks on schools in Gaza, which have increasingly become targets despite being designated as safe havens for civilians.

Earlier in October, an airstrike on a school in Nuseirat Refugee Camp claimed 17 lives, with many others wounded. 

Similarly, a strike on a UN-run school in Jabaliya left over 100 dead, predominantly women and children. 

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,875 Palestinians have been killed, and 106,454 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian Infant, Mayor of Deir Al-Balah Killed in Israeli Airstrikes across Gaza 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.  

(PC, WAFA)