From the Liveblog of
Saturday, July 6, 2024
IDF says it struck Hamas operatives who used UN-run Gaza school as command center
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike against a United Nations-run school in the central Gaza Strip earlier today, saying the facility was used by Hamas operatives as a command center.
Hamas health authorities have claimed 16 people were killed in the strike and some 50 were wounded.
Before carrying out the strike against UNRWA’s al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat, the IDF says it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including using aerial surveillance and other intelligence.
According to the military, buildings within the school compound were used by Hamas operatives as “a hideout and as active operational infrastructure, from which terrorist operations against our forces operating in the Gaza Strip were planned and carried out.”
Several Hamas operatives were at the sites when they were struck, the IDF says.
“The Hamas terror organization regularly violates international law, while systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terror activity against the State of Israel,” the military adds.
The Times of Israel Community.