The British newspaper The Guardian has reported, citing sources familiar with Israel’s military planning, that repeated airstrikes on schools in the Gaza Strip, many of which are being used as shelters for displaced civilians, are part of a deliberate military strategy devised by the Israeli occupation forces. According to this strategy, several schools have been designated as direct targets for attacks.
The newspaper stated that the Israeli military has relaxed restrictions on launching attacks in locations where large numbers of civilians are present. This shift helps explain the increasing frequency of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and municipal facilities.
Military sources told The Guardian that the Al-Ayesha School in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where displaced people had taken shelter, was among a series of targets identified in recent weeks.
Four other schools located in the northern Gaza Strip, specifically around Jabalia refugee camp, were also identified as potential targets. These schools include Halawa, Al-Rifa’i, Naseeba, and Halima Al-Sa’diyya. Reports indicate that two of these schools had already suffered damage in earlier airstrikes.
The paper revealed that in recent months, the Israeli military has bombed at least six schools in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of more than 120 Palestinians, as part of a systematic campaign targeting civilian facilities sheltering displaced people.
The Guardian gave detailed coverage of the massacre in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood on 25 May, when Israeli warplanes bombed the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School, which was housing dozens of displaced families. The strike killed at least 54 Palestinians, most of whom were asleep at the time.
According to the newspaper, the charred bodies of victims, including children, were recovered from classrooms that caught fire following the airstrike.
It also confirmed, citing three Israeli military sources, that over the past two months, the army had classified schools, hospitals, and other civilian buildings as potential targets. The sources added that, in some instances, strikes were carried out with prior knowledge of the presence of civilians.
The Guardian noted that these operations form part of an expanded policy adopted by the Israeli occupation forces, in which civilian facilities are integrated into the military target bank, reflecting a deliberate disregard for civilian lives and reinforcing a policy of disproportionate use of force.
These massacres add to the series of crimes perpetrated by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, with direct support from the United States, in a campaign of genocide that has so far resulted in more than 175,000 dead and injured, mostly women and children, as well as over 11,000 missing persons and hundreds of thousands of displaced people, who continue to be targeted wherever they seek refuge.
