EXCLUSIVE
The Israeli assault on the college in Gaza Metropolis that killed greater than 100 displaced Palestinians was ‘calculated’ to trigger widespread lack of life, Al Jazeera probe finds.
Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification company has probed the small print of Israel’s Saturday morning assault on Gaza Metropolis’s al-Tabin School, which killed greater than 100 individuals, together with girls and youngsters.
The investigation decided the assault was “intentionally timed to trigger most casualties”, with a “giant variety of displaced individuals intentionally focused,” it stated in a press release on Tuesday.
To achieve its findings, Sanad examined survivors’ testimonies, images of the remnants of bombs used within the assault, photographs exhibiting how the bombs penetrated the ceilings of the mosque connected to the college, and documentation of the explosion’s rapid aftermath.
Based mostly on the proof, Sanad stated Israel’s army fired the 2 guided missiles used within the assault to coincide with daybreak prayers.
The missiles “penetrated the mosque’s roof, handed via the primary flooring, the place the ladies’s chapel is situated, and exploded on the bottom flooring, the place the lads’s chapel is located”, Sanad stated in its report.
The company added that fragments of at the least two shells used on this concentrating on have been of the American GBU-39 SDB sort, confirmed by weapons knowledgeable Trevor Ball. These sort of shells are manufactured and exported to the Israeli military by the American firm, Boeing.
Concerning the placement and time of influence of the 2 guided missiles, Sanad stated, “It’s clear that the selection was not random.”
“The southern missile landed at first of the chapel space as prayer was starting, whereas the northern missile landed within the sleeping space and close to the ablutions and bogs the place the displaced individuals have been getting ready for prayer,” the company stated.
Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked schools used as shelters in Gaza, claiming they’re command centres for Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the territory, to cover fighters and manufacture weapons. At the very least 5 such assaults have been reported this month.
Sanad challenged the Israeli army’s claims that the al-Tabin College assault focused Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters it stated have been within the males’s prayer corridor on the time.
The Al Jazeera company identified that the assaults occurred throughout prayer time in a mosque serving displaced civilians.
It additionally cited images and survivor testimonies exhibiting that, opposite to the Israeli army’s claims, hearth broke out in areas outdoors the ground Israel stated it had solely focused, killing and maiming civilians.
“The proof strongly suggests a deliberate and calculated assault aimed toward inflicting widespread lack of life,” Sanad stated.
The assault has led to renewed requires the USA to cease offering staunch help for Israel, together with weapons transfers that rights advocates say are fuelling atrocities within the Palestinian enclave.
The school “massacre” additionally got here amid fears of the Gaza struggle escalating right into a regional battle following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Haniyeh’s killing got here hours after one other Israeli strike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
Iran and its allies have blamed Israel for the killings and have promised revenge.