Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have carried out hundreds of strikes on schools sheltering displaced Palestinians.
The attacks have killed hundreds of civilians and damaged or destroyed virtually all of Gaza’s schools. And they highlight the absence of safe places for displaced people, who make up the vast majority of Gaza’s population.
Human Rights Watch investigated Israeli attacks that struck the Khadija girls’ school in Deir al-Balah on July 27, 2024, killing at least 15 people, and al-Zeitoun C school in al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on September 21, 2024, killing at least 34 people. We found no evidence of a military target at either school.
>> Read our new report
These findings were based on a review of satellite imagery, photos, and videos of the attacks and their aftermath, as well as social media material and interviews with witnesses.
The strikes on schools-turned-shelters are part of Israeli forces’ current military offensive that is demolishing much of Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure, displacing again hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and worsening the already dire humanitarian situation.
As HRW’s Gerry Simpson notes, these attacks “provide a window into the widespread carnage Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza,” from which there is shrinking safe haven.
>> Read another recent HRW report on Israeli killings of Palestinians seeking food at aid distribution sites
