Al-Awda school attack

On the evening of 9 July 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an airstrike targeting a gate at the entrance of Al-Awda school in Abasan al-Kabira, near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. The school, run by UNRWA, had been converted into a displacement shelter housing refugees, many of whom had fled Rafah during Israel's Rafah offensive. Several dozen people were outside at the time, watching a soccer game in the courtyard. A witness described a warplane firing a missile at young men sitting at a nearby internet cafe, followed by "screams and body parts everywhere." A US-made GBU-39 precision-guided glide bomb, manufactured by Boeing, was identified by weapons experts from fragments recovered at the scene.

At least 19 deceased Palestinians were initially brought to nearby Nasser Hospital, along with 53 injured. Health officials stated that most of the casualties were women and children. The death toll rose to at least 31 by the following day. A 14-year-old survivor described being thrown into the air by the blast and seeing "all the wounded. Just body parts." Another child survivor said he was the only member of his family to survive the strike.

The attack was reported as the fourth strike on a Palestinian school by the IDF within four days, following incidents at the al-Jawni school in Nuseirat on 6 July (16 killed), the Holy Family school in Gaza City on 7 July (4 killed), and another Nuseirat school on 8 July that caused injuries. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini stated that two-thirds of all UNRWA schools in Gaza had been hit since October 2023.

Hamas condemned the strike, describing it as part of what it called an Israeli "war of extermination" and calling for international demonstrations against the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The Israeli Ministry of Defense stated that "precision weapons" were used to target an area near the school where a Hamas fighter who had taken part in the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel was located, and said it was investigating reports that Palestinian civilians were harmed.

International reactions followed. EU Chief of Foreign Policy Josep Borrell condemned the attack and called for accountability and an immediate ceasefire. The French foreign ministry called for the strikes on schools to be fully investigated, stating that targeting schools sheltering displaced civilians was unacceptable. The German Federal Foreign Office likewise called for an end to repeated attacks on schools and a prompt investigation.

As of the available reporting, the Israeli Ministry of Defense's investigation into civilian harm had not concluded, and no individuals have been named as charged or convicted in connection with the strike.