03:35Rescuers recovered those killed and wounded from the rubble of two collapsed school buildings reportedly sheltering displaced people in Gaza City after they were hit by Israel Defence Force (IDF) airstrikes targeting Hamas command and control centres on Sunday.
Footage shows rescuers clearing debris and cutting through metal constructions to gain access to the collapsed three-storey building, while the bodies of the dead and wounded can be seen being recovered from the rubble. The video also shows fire engines at the scene, with bodies covered by blankets and bloodstains on the floor and up the walls.
Abu Mahmoud Nofal reported that he was among the displaced civilians sheltering in the school when the strikes occurred.
“We were having lunch when we heard the sound of an explosion,” he explained. “My wife decided to go outside to find out what had happened, <...> so we went outside. It was impossible to see your hand in front of your face, so we had to go to the yard,” Nofal continued.
Medical personnel and rescuers described the attack and the rescue efforts by crews.
"Both schools, Al-Nasr and Hassan Salama, were bombed simultaneously,” medical services supervisor Adel al-Mashharawi explained. “We have extracted 10 martyrs and 15 wounded so far. As you can see, we have no equipment to recover the wounded, but rescuers have been digging with their bare hands,” he added.
"The schools were overcrowded with displaced people that had fled the occupation army. The school buildings collapsed on top of their heads. The crews are working hard to rescue as many people as they can from the rubble. Our capabilities are limited, and have been for the past nine months,” said Field Rescue Officer Ibrahim Abu Al-Rish.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa later reported that the death toll had risen to 30, with the wounded taken to the city's Baptist Hospital.
Hamas denounced the attack, noting in a statement that: "The criminal terrorist behaviour of the occupation government, which deliberately carries out its cold-blooded massacres of civilians, requires the international community as well as Arabic and Islamic countries to stand up to their responsibilities and work to put an end to these crimes and hold the fascist perpetrators, the occupation leaders, accountable."
The IDF said it had launched the strikes ‘based on intelligence, targeting terrorists who were operating inside command-and-control centres in the schools’.
"The two schools were utilized by the Al-Furqan Brigade as a site to hide its terrorists and as command-and-control centres to plan and conduct attacks against Israeli forces and the State of Israel," the IDF continued in a statement.
The Hamas-Israel war erupted after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
In the enclave, the IDF launched a large-scale campaign of airstrikes and ground incursions, killing at least 39,583 Palestinians and injuring more than 91,398 others as of the time of publication.
‘School buildings collapsed on top of their heads’ - Rescuers recover dead, wounded after IDF strikes on two Gaza City schools *DISTRESSING*
Rescuers recovered those killed and wounded from the rubble of two collapsed school buildings reportedly sheltering displaced people in Gaza City after they were hit by Israel Defence Force (IDF) airstrikes targeting Hamas command and control centres on Sunday.
Footage shows rescuers clearing debris and cutting through metal constructions to gain access to the collapsed three-storey building, while the bodies of the dead and wounded can be seen being recovered from the rubble. The video also shows fire engines at the scene, with bodies covered by blankets and bloodstains on the floor and up the walls.
Abu Mahmoud Nofal reported that he was among the displaced civilians sheltering in the school when the strikes occurred.
“We were having lunch when we heard the sound of an explosion,” he explained. “My wife decided to go outside to find out what had happened, <...> so we went outside. It was impossible to see your hand in front of your face, so we had to go to the yard,” Nofal continued.
Medical personnel and rescuers described the attack and the rescue efforts by crews.
"Both schools, Al-Nasr and Hassan Salama, were bombed simultaneously,” medical services supervisor Adel al-Mashharawi explained. “We have extracted 10 martyrs and 15 wounded so far. As you can see, we have no equipment to recover the wounded, but rescuers have been digging with their bare hands,” he added.
"The schools were overcrowded with displaced people that had fled the occupation army. The school buildings collapsed on top of their heads. The crews are working hard to rescue as many people as they can from the rubble. Our capabilities are limited, and have been for the past nine months,” said Field Rescue Officer Ibrahim Abu Al-Rish.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa later reported that the death toll had risen to 30, with the wounded taken to the city's Baptist Hospital.
Hamas denounced the attack, noting in a statement that: "The criminal terrorist behaviour of the occupation government, which deliberately carries out its cold-blooded massacres of civilians, requires the international community as well as Arabic and Islamic countries to stand up to their responsibilities and work to put an end to these crimes and hold the fascist perpetrators, the occupation leaders, accountable."
The IDF said it had launched the strikes ‘based on intelligence, targeting terrorists who were operating inside command-and-control centres in the schools’.
"The two schools were utilized by the Al-Furqan Brigade as a site to hide its terrorists and as command-and-control centres to plan and conduct attacks against Israeli forces and the State of Israel," the IDF continued in a statement.
The Hamas-Israel war erupted after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
In the enclave, the IDF launched a large-scale campaign of airstrikes and ground incursions, killing at least 39,583 Palestinians and injuring more than 91,398 others as of the time of publication.
Rescuers recovered those killed and wounded from the rubble of two collapsed school buildings reportedly sheltering displaced people in Gaza City after they were hit by Israel Defence Force (IDF) airstrikes targeting Hamas command and control centres on Sunday.
Footage shows rescuers clearing debris and cutting through metal constructions to gain access to the collapsed three-storey building, while the bodies of the dead and wounded can be seen being recovered from the rubble. The video also shows fire engines at the scene, with bodies covered by blankets and bloodstains on the floor and up the walls.
Abu Mahmoud Nofal reported that he was among the displaced civilians sheltering in the school when the strikes occurred.
“We were having lunch when we heard the sound of an explosion,” he explained. “My wife decided to go outside to find out what had happened, <...> so we went outside. It was impossible to see your hand in front of your face, so we had to go to the yard,” Nofal continued.
Medical personnel and rescuers described the attack and the rescue efforts by crews.
"Both schools, Al-Nasr and Hassan Salama, were bombed simultaneously,” medical services supervisor Adel al-Mashharawi explained. “We have extracted 10 martyrs and 15 wounded so far. As you can see, we have no equipment to recover the wounded, but rescuers have been digging with their bare hands,” he added.
"The schools were overcrowded with displaced people that had fled the occupation army. The school buildings collapsed on top of their heads. The crews are working hard to rescue as many people as they can from the rubble. Our capabilities are limited, and have been for the past nine months,” said Field Rescue Officer Ibrahim Abu Al-Rish.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa later reported that the death toll had risen to 30, with the wounded taken to the city's Baptist Hospital.
Hamas denounced the attack, noting in a statement that: "The criminal terrorist behaviour of the occupation government, which deliberately carries out its cold-blooded massacres of civilians, requires the international community as well as Arabic and Islamic countries to stand up to their responsibilities and work to put an end to these crimes and hold the fascist perpetrators, the occupation leaders, accountable."
The IDF said it had launched the strikes ‘based on intelligence, targeting terrorists who were operating inside command-and-control centres in the schools’.
"The two schools were utilized by the Al-Furqan Brigade as a site to hide its terrorists and as command-and-control centres to plan and conduct attacks against Israeli forces and the State of Israel," the IDF continued in a statement.
The Hamas-Israel war erupted after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
In the enclave, the IDF launched a large-scale campaign of airstrikes and ground incursions, killing at least 39,583 Palestinians and injuring more than 91,398 others as of the time of publication.