On Monday morning, September 30, 2024, at approximately 1:19 am, a declared Israeli airstrike struck the Abu Jaafer School in Beit Lahia, North Gaza. Local reports indicated that 15 civilians were injured and between two and four others were killed at the facility, which was being used as a shelter by displaced civilians. Israel Defense Forces released a statement declaring their involvement, stating that they were targeting “Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center” in the school.

Safa ps reported that “[Israeli] aircraft bombed the Abu Jaafar School in Al-Sultan area in Beit Lahia.” Al Jazeera Arabic provided video documentation of the incident on Twitter/X, showing people evacuating the area while smoke surrounded the school building. The footage depicted structural damage to the facility and showed civilians trapped under debris while others attempted rescue operations.

On Facebook, Ahmed Abu Al Aish added, “#Targeting schools that shelter displaced people does not stop. After midnight, the [Israeli] aircraft targeted Abu Jaafar Al-Mansour School in the Al-Sultan neighbourhood in the city of Beit Lahia, west of the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, a martyr was killed and a number of people were injured. This is the second school to be targeted within hours in the same area in the city of Beit Lahia.”

Additionally, Ashraf Al Hajan added, “A martyr and injuries in the [Israeli] bombing of Abu Jaafar School in the Sultans neighbourhood in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.” The post included an image showing emergency medical personnel attending to an injured person amid debris.

Benlahouel Chouihki on Facebook added, “For the 360th day….The [Israeli] warplanes bombed Abu Jaafar School in the Sultans neighbourhood west of Beit Lahia, which shelters displaced persons, leading to the martyrdom of two citizens and the injury of others….”

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the incident resulted in the “martyrdom of 4 people and the injury of 15 others.” As other sources put the death toll at two, Airwars has graded this with a fatality range of two to four.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement on their official Telegram channel that “A short while ago, with the direction of IDF intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center in the northern Gaza Strip. The command and control center, which was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Abu Ja’far Al Mansour’ School, was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.” At the time of writing, information in support of the claim of a Hamas presence at the Abu Jaafer School was not available.