Seven people killed in Israeli airstrikes on educational centre in northern Gaza Strip

Israeli military says Namaa University was used by Hamas ‘terrorists’ as ‘command and control centre’

September 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least seven people were killed on Tuesday in a bombing carried out by the Israeli army against an educational centre located in the city of Gaza, in the north of the Strip, which was allegedly being used by “terrorists” of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as a “command and control centre”, according to the Israeli Armed Forces.

The attack on Namaa University, located in the Seikh Raduan neighbourhood, has also left around 30 people injured, according to the Palestinian daily ‘Filastin’, which is linked to Hamas. The Islamist group has not yet commented on the incident.

The Israeli army, for its part, has spoken of a “precise” attack against “terrorists operating in a Hamas command and control complex in an area previously used by Namaa University.” “The command and control centre was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist operations against Israeli forces and the State of Israel,” it argued.

“Prior to the attack, numerous steps were taken to reduce the possibility of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial surveillance and intelligence gathering,” he said, adding that “Hamas systematically violates international law, brutally using civilian institutions and the population as human shields for its terrorist acts.”

“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue to act with force and determination against terrorist organizations that use schools and other civilian institutions as safe havens,” it concluded, within the framework of the offensive unleashed against Gaza following the attacks perpetrated on October 7, 2023 by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, which left nearly 1,200 dead and some 250 kidnapped, according to Israeli authorities.

The offensive has so far left more than 40,800 Palestinians dead, according to Hamas-controlled Gaza authorities, a figure that adds to more than 680 deaths in the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers since October 7.