Hamas Condemns Israeli Attack on Gaza School as ‘War Crime’ Supported by US

Hamas, in a statement, called these acts “unprecedented crimes in modern history” and labelled them as a blatant violation of human values and international law, according to Middle East Eye.

The group further accused the United States of providing military and political cover, allowing the continued "brutal genocide" in the Gaza Strip.

The statement emphasised that the international community now faces a moral, humanitarian, and legal test to stop the Israeli occupation’s aggression, hold its leaders accountable, and address its crimes.

Israel killed at least 16 Palestinian orphans and widows after bombing a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City on Saturday, according to local officials.

The children and women killed in the raid had lost their primary caregiver in earlier Israeli attacks amid the relentless bombing campaign ongoing for nearly a year, the Gaza-based government media office announced. 

The orphans and widows had arrived at the Zeitoun C school in Southern Gaza City to receive cash assistance as part of a charity orphan sponsorship programme. 

The media office noted the “horrific massacre” was the latest episode of Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza’s civilians.  

At least 181 schools-turned-shelters have been bombed by the Israeli air force since the war on the besieged enclave began nearly a year ago, it added.

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that 22 people had been killed in the attack and 30 others wounded.

A three-month-old baby was among those killed, the media office said. 

It added two people were missing and at least nine of the wounded children had lost one or more limbs, while others sustained severe burns. 

"The women and their children were sitting in the playground of the school, the kids were playing and suddenly two rockets hit them," Said Al-Malahi, a witness, told Reuters. 

Another witness, Ahmed Azzam, told the news agency he did not see a single man among the wounded. 

"It was all women and children," he added.

Israel has killed 41,391 Palestinians since October 7, including over 16,700 children and 11,000 women, according to Palestinian health and government officials.

The figure also includes at least 1,000 health sector professionals, 220 UN aid workers - the highest staff death toll in UN history - and 170 journalists, the highest number of media workers killed in conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began recording data in 1992.