By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli military admitted Monday that it targeted a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, claiming the strike was aimed at eliminating a senior Hamas security official.
The attack, which took place Sunday, killed nine people and injured many others, according to Palestinian sources.
A military statement said an Air Force drone directed by intelligence from Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service, AMAN military intelligence directorate and the Southern Command successfully targeted Tharwat Muhammad Ahmed Albec, the head of the Security Directorate within Hamas's General Security apparatus.
The military claimed that Albec “was operating in a command-and-control center that was embedded in a compound that previously served as the Musa bin Nusayr school in Duraj Taffah in eastern Gaza City.
It further alleged that Albec’s directorate was responsible for “producing intelligence assessments that help within Hamas’s decision-making and is also responsible for the security of senior Hamas members, providing them hideout places to ensure the continuation of their military activities.”
The Gaza Government Media Office has previously accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting shelters and UN schools hosting displaced families, aiming to maximize casualties primarily among women and children.
Since the onset of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Palestinians have faced continuous displacement, with residents often ordered to evacuate their homes ahead of aerial bombardments, ground incursions, or the destruction of neighborhoods.
Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,300 people, most of them women and children, since an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamim Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio