Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza
Gaza, May 27: In the latest surge of violence in the conflict-ravaged Gaza Strip, 13 people, including children, were killed and at least 21 others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in Gaza City on Monday, according to local rescuers.
The strike hit the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School located in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, as per a statement from Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency on Telegram. “Civil defence crews in Gaza City retrieved 13 martyrs and 21 injured from inside the school,” the message stated.
The Israeli Defence Forces have intensified operations across Gaza this month as part of what they describe as a renewed military push to dismantle Hamas, nearly 20 months after the militant group’s deadly October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war.
The humanitarian fallout of the conflict continues to stir international outrage. Speaking in Madrid on Sunday, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called for international sanctions against Israel, citing the “inhumane” and “senseless” nature of the ongoing military campaign.
“Gaza has become humanity’s open wound,” Albares said, urging unconditional, unlimited humanitarian access to the besieged territory. Spain also floated the idea of an arms embargo and individual sanctions against those obstructing peace and a two-state solution.
Though Israel partially relaxed the blockade on Gaza earlier this month, food, water, fuel, and medical supplies remain critically short. According to Israel’s COGAT, 107 UN-backed aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday. However, aid agencies argue this is far from sufficient, with many deliveries being looted due to widespread desperation.
The World Food Programme has issued a stark warning, stressing that “hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity.”
Adding to the controversy, Jake Wood, head of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), abruptly resigned Sunday, citing an inability to fulfil the group’s mission in line with humanitarian principles. The GHF, which promised to deliver 300 million meals, has faced criticism from aid groups over its alleged coordination with Israel.
Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal reported further casualties across the territory over the weekend, including a pregnant woman, seven children killed in Jabalia, and the deaths of the civil defence’s own operations chief Ashraf Abu Nar and his wife.
In Khan Yunis, a previous Israeli airstrike reportedly killed nine children of two doctors, a claim the Israeli army says it is reviewing.
According to Gaza's health ministry, at least 3,785 people have been killed since the ceasefire collapsed on March 18, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza to 53,939, mostly civilians.
In contrast, Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,218 people, mostly civilians. 251 hostages were taken in that attack; 57 remain in captivity, including 34 believed to be dead, per Israeli military estimates.
As the humanitarian crisis deepens, global pressure mounts on all parties to halt hostilities and prioritize the welfare of civilians—especially as calls for peace grow louder in world capitals.