Summary
- HRW reports Israel used US bombs on Gaza schools.
- Schools shelter displaced civilians, hit unlawfully and
indiscriminately.
- Hundreds of civilians killed; schools damaged or
destroyed.
- HRW urges arms transfer suspension to Israel.
- Attacks violate international humanitarian law, HRW warns.
According to a report by HRW, Israeli forces
used US-supplied weapons, such as Boeing's GBU-39 bombs, to launch
"unlawfully indiscriminate attacks" on civilian shelters. At least 49
individuals, primarily women and children, were killed in fatal attacks on two
UN-run schools in Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, according to the rights group's
documentation.
According to HRW, using satellite imagery,
videos, and eyewitness reports, it did not discover any indications of military
targets at the al-Zeitoun C school (Sept. 21, 2024) or the Khadija girls'
school (July 27).
HRW requested information regarding the targeted targets and the safeguards taken, but Israeli authorities did not answer.
"Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced families provide a window into the widespread carnage that Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza,"
said Gerry Simpson, associate director at HRW, calling on governments, including the US, to halt military support.
"The US government's provision of arms to Israel, which have repeatedly been used in strikes on schools-turned-shelters and to carry out apparent war crimes, has made the United States complicit in their unlawful use,"
it said.
Additionally, according to UN data published by
the organization, Israeli troops hit at least ten schools that were converted
into shelters between July 1 and July 10, killing 59 people and uprooting
dozens of families. It further said that since October 2023, about 97% of
Gaza's schools had been demolished or severely damaged.
HRW emphasized that assaults on educational
institutions that lack specific military goals are illegal under international
law and could be considered war crimes. The reported use of "double
tap" strikes against first responders was also criticized.
According to HRW, Israel has stated that Hamas
members utilized school grounds as command centers, although it has only made
evidence available for a small number of these claims.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed almost 61,100 civilians in Gaza. The enclave has been ravaged by the military campaign and is on the brink of starvation.
How does Israel justify its use of US-made bombs in Gaza schools?
Israel justifies its use of US-made bombs in
Gaza, including strikes on schools sheltering displaced civilians, by asserting
that these locations are legitimate military targets. For example, in the case
of the Al-Tabaeen school, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the school
was being used as a "Hamas headquarters" and contained Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad militants who carried out attacks from within the compound.
Israel argues that it targets these civilian
structures only because they are repurposed by Hamas for military use, such as
command centers or militant hideouts, which, according to Israel, voids their
protected status under international law.
Israeli officials emphasize they take steps to
avoid civilian harm but maintain that the existence of militants in these
civilian sites necessitates such strikes to neutralize threats.