April 4, 2025 — Gaza City
At least 33 people, most of them reported to be children, were killed in what has been described as a series of airstrikes on school facilities in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials and eyewitnesses. The attacks, which occurred early Thursday morning, targeted several buildings sheltering displaced families, sparking international outrage and calls for accountability.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza stated that the majority of the victims were children under the age of 15. Emergency responders were seen pulling bodies from the rubble of what was once a United Nations-run school in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
“These were clearly marked shelters, housing hundreds of families who had nowhere else to go,” said Dr. Marwan al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry. “This is nothing short of a massacre.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged conducting airstrikes in central Gaza overnight but claimed the targets were being used by Hamas operatives. “We are reviewing reports of civilian casualties,” the IDF said in a brief statement, asserting that efforts were made to minimize harm to non-combatants.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strikes, calling for an immediate independent investigation. “Attacks on schools and the killing of children are violations of international humanitarian law,” he said in a press briefing from New York. “There must be accountability.”
The strikes come amid intensifying hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups, now entering their seventh month. Human rights organizations have documented rising civilian casualties and deteriorating humanitarian conditions across Gaza, where access to food, water, and medical supplies remains severely restricted.
The international community, including the European Union and several Middle Eastern governments, has urged both sides to de-escalate and respect the protections afforded to civilians under the Geneva Conventions.
As the situation unfolds, calls for a ceasefire and humanitarian access continue to grow louder.