The Israeli military has “illegally and indiscriminately” used US munitions to attack school shelters in Gaza, killing hundreds of people, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
The US-based campaigners’ report, “Gaza: Israeli School Strikes Magnify Civilian Peril,” was published Thursday.
Israel’s campaign following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 has made the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.1 million people homeless – forcing many to flee their neighborhoods in search of civilian infrastructure.
Israel has frequently said its strikes on school facilities in Gaza target embedded Hamas fighters. But HRW said it only found seven instances where the military published details of alleged militants killed – and highlighted two strikes, which killed nearly 50 people, where they found no evidence of any military target.
Such attacks would violate international law because schools and other educational facilities are civilian objects and protected from attack, HRW said. They lose that protection when used for military purposes or are occupied by military forces. But the use of schools to house civilians does not alter their legal status.
