Kamala Harris condemns Israel's Gaza school strike, says 'too many' civilians are dying in the war

While condemning the recent Israeli strikes on a school in Gaza, US Vice President Kamala Harris said that “far too many” civilians have lost their lives in the conflict-stricken coastal enclave. The Hamas-led health ministry claimed that over 100 people were killed after Israel struck the al-Taba’een school complex, in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) rejected the death toll shared by Hamas, insisting that the strike was conducted after mitigating harm to civilians. On Sunday, Harris echoed the comments made by the White House and reiterated calls for a hostage deal and a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

‘Israel has the right…but also responsibilities’: Harris

While addressing a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, Harris insisted that Israel has the right to “go after Hamas”. However, she maintained that the Jewish nation also has “an important responsibility” to avoid civilian casualties.

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The Saturday attack has been condemned by several countries around the world with Egypt saying that “Israel showed no desire to reach a ceasefire or end the Gaza war.”

Amid the criticisms, the Israeli military continued to justify its actions. The IDF maintained that it struck a command room that terror operatives set up at the school where Palestinian children were seeking refuge. In the statement, IDF noted that according to intelligence at least 20 terror operatives, including “senior commanders,” were at the site when it was struck.

“According to a preliminary examination, the numbers published by the government media office in Gaza — which acts as a media arm of Hamas — are exaggerated and do not match the information available in the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike,” the IDF said in a statement.

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The army reiterated that they struck the school because it had an “active Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad command room.” The IDF stated that to mitigate harm to civilians, they conducted aerial surveillance before the strikes, The Times of Israel reported.

After justifying itself, the Israeli military went on to accuse Hamas of “systematically [violating] international law and [operating] from within civilian shelters, brutally exploiting the civilian population and institutions as human shields for their terror activities.”

Meanwhile, Hamas’ media office maintained that the strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to the high casualty count. The Palestinian group maintained that no militant was present at the location.

With inputs from agencies.