Palestinian presidency blames US for Israeli school 'massacre'

At least 100 killed when Israeli army targeted school where displaced Palestinians were performing fajr (dawn) prayer

ANKARA:

The Palestinian presidency on Saturday held the US government responsible for Israel’s attack on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza.

In a statement, Nabih Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Presidency, condemned the attack and held the US administration “responsible for the massacre due to its financial, military, and political support for Israel,” according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

On Early Saturday, Israeli army targeted with missiles the Al-Taba'een school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood housing displaced people, killing at least 100 Palestinians, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza.

“The Israeli strikes targeted the displaced people while performing Fajr (dawn) prayers, [which] led to a rapid rise in the number of casualties,” the media office said.

Abu Rudeineh said that "this attack is part of a pattern of daily atrocities committed by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza and the West Bank."

He accused Israel of "attempting to annihilate the Palestinian people through collective massacres and daily killings while international silence continues."

The spokesman noted that the recent attack occurred just as the US announced $3.5 billion in military aid to Israel “implicating the US in the ongoing genocide,” according to the news agency.

Abu Rudeineh called on the US to press Israel to cease its attacks and adhere to international law, urging "an end to the blind support that leads to the killing of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly."

Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.