World reactions to deadly Israeli strike on Gaza school

 

A protester raises his bound hands covered in red paint as relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza since the October 7 attacks lift flags and placards as they demonstrate calling for their release in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2024. [AFP]

Friends and foes of Israel on Saturday denounced an Israeli strike that killed scores of displaced civilians in a Gaza school, renewing calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the Israeli strike on the Al-Tabieen religious school and mosque in Gaza City killed at least 93 people, 17 of them women and children, making it one of the war's deadliest strikes.

Israel's military disputed the death toll, saying the school was targeted with "precision munitions" because it "served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility".

It said at least 19 "terrorists" had been killed in the strike.

United States

A White House statement said it was "deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties" following the strike and was seeking more information.

The strike "underscores the urgency of a ceasefire and hostage deal, which we continue to work tirelessly to achieve", the statement added.

Britain

British Foreign Minister David Lammy wrote on X that he was "appalled by the Israeli Military strike on al-Tabeen school and the tragic loss of life," adding that "we need an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians, free all hostages, and end restrictions on aid".

France

A statement from the French foreign ministry noted that "for several weeks, school buildings have been repeatedly targeted, with an intolerable number of civilian victims."

"Israel must respect international humanitarian law," it added.

EU

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was "horrified by images from a sheltering school in Gaza hit by an Israeli strike. At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There's no justification for these massacres," Borrell wrote on X.

Switzerland

The Swiss foreign affairs ministry said in a posting on X that it was "alarmed by the high death toll reported after an Israeli strike on a school used as a shelter. International humanitarian law protects civilians and civilian infrastructure in conflict zones."

Spain

"Once again we demand the total respect for the provisional measures demanded by the International Court of Justice for the protection of civilian populations," said the Spanish government.

Qatar

Qatar, a mediator in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, demanded an urgent probe to ascertain the "facts regarding the Israeli occupation forces' continued targeting of schools and shelters for displaced persons".

Egypt

Egypt, which has diplomatic ties with Israel and is also involved in negotiations between the two sides, said the attack was carried out "in disdain of international and humanitarian law" and showed a "lack of willingness on the Israeli side to put an end to this ferocious war."

Jordan

Jordan's foreign ministry said the timing was an indication of Israel's efforts to "obstruct and thwart" the latest mediation effort.

Russia

"Moscow is deeply shocked by what has happened," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"We reaffirm our principled and consistent position on the need for strict compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law. We call on the Israeli side to refrain from attacking civilian objects."

Iran

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the strike "showed once again that Israel does not respect any of the rules and regulations of international law and moral and human principles."

Kanani called for "firm action by Muslim and freedom-loving countries around the world to support the Palestinian nation and its legitimate struggles and resistance against the occupation".

Hezbollah

Lebanon's Hezbollah group described the attack as a "horrific massacre" and called for worldwide outrage in solidarity with Palestinians.

Huthis

Yemen's Huthis said it was "a brutal massacre committed by the criminal Israeli entity with full American support".

GCC

The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council said the "direct targeting of shelters and camps of the displaced, are considered war crimes".

Kuwait

Kuwait's foreign ministry called on "the international community and the Security Council to intervene to stop these heinous crimes against a defenceless people, and to exert more efforts to stop the bloodshed".

Bahrain

Bahrain "strongly" condemned the bombing of the school. In a statement, the foreign ministry called on the international community "to assume its responsibilities to provide the necessary protection for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip from the ongoing Israeli attacks".

Turkey

A foreign ministry statement decried a "new crime against humanity" and said the attack shows "once again" that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "wants to sabotage permanent ceasefire negotiations".

"The international actors who do not take measures to stop Israel are making themselves complicit in these crimes," it added.

WHO

"I'm speechless," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a posting on X.

"How many more women and children will lose their lives before a ceasefire? The horror that civilians in #Gaza are enduring must end."