5 killed, many injured in Israeli airstrike on school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine 

At least five Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an Israeli bombing targeting a school housing displaced people in southeastern Gaza City. 

"Five martyrs, including two children and a woman, and several injured, some of whom are in critical condition, in an Israeli airstrike on Zeitoun Martyrs School in Zeitoun neighborhood of southeastern Gaza City,” Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement on Telegram.

The Israeli army acknowledged the bombing of the school, claiming that it targeted "a group of militants operating within a command-and-control center," which is nearly identical to the claim made after all previous strikes on displaced Palestinian camps and tents in Gaza.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Under the rules of war, targeting such civilian facilities can constitute a war crime.

Despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last October.

Over 41,000 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 95,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala