At least four civilians, all women and children, were killed and more than 15 others were injured in a declared Israeli airstrike that hit the Nuseirat Girls’ School, an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people in the new camp north of Nuseirat Refugee Camp on October 2, 2024.

Israeli forces declared the strike, stating that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence”. Israeli forces claimed they were targeting a “command and control center” in Nuseirat.

Children were among those injured in the strike, as shown in photos shared on social media. One shows a small child, bloodied and with severe injuries. In another, a young man or boy is seen being carried by members of the PRCS into an ambulance as blood streams down his face with a bandage covering the top of his head. A little boy and girl are also pictured with bandaged heads, being treated by nurses; the girl on the floor and the boy on what appears to be a table. The Embassy of the State of Palestine for the Caribbean shared a video documenting the casualties of the strike, which included many babies and small children.

The names of those reported to have been killed in the strike include: Rakan Sameh al-Zawagha, a male child; Marah Yousef Jumaa Awad, a female child aged seven; Menna Ismail Mahmoud Qandeel, a female child; and Mona Fayez Mohammed Ahmed.

The majority of the sources referred to the school as “a UNRWA school in the new camp” while others specified that the school was located opposite Al-Uruba School. A Facebook post from Abo Mahmoud Al Azaiza Al Mansoum specified that the strike hit “the security room in Nuseirat Girls Elementary School A” while Najmat Al Salam referred to the school as “Nuseirat Elementary School (B).”

One video shared to social media showed the initial moments following the aftermath of the strike. People can be heard screaming in the background and are running around, including children and one man who is bleeding from his head. Amidst the dust, fire, and chaos of the strike, people are seen searching for bodies and carrying those recovered from underneath the rubble of the crowded school.

It was initially reported that at least three people had been killed and dozens injured in the strike. Follow-up posts confirmed that three bodies were recovered and more than 15 injured people were taken to Al-Awda Hospital in the camp following the strike. Some were also transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah due to the seriousness of their condition.

Later reports, including one by a family member of the deceased, suggested that the number of those killed in the strike was “exceeding five.” According to Anadolu Agency, who shared videos of civilians being laid to rest (among them the small shroud of a child), eight people were killed in the strike.

One of the children killed in the strike was Rakan al-Zawagha. In a photo posted to Facebook, the child’s small body, wearing a red sweater, is wrapped in a shroud with his bloodied face visible and arms hugged across his chest.

Marah Yousef Awad, aged seven, was killed in the strike while waiting in line for water according to one social media post. Her uncles, Abu Ramzi and Yahia Mahbob Al A’alm mourned her death on Facebook, with the latter sharing a photo of the young Marah smiling and waving to the camera, dressed in a pink tutu and a black lace top with a big orange bow.

Mona Fayez Ahmed was remembered by her sister-in-law, Maysoon Ahmed, as “her only sister, whom I have never parted from.” Maysoon called Mona “the laughter and fruit of our home,” and remembered her for making “the difficult days easier for me with her laughter” and for living through “the woes of war and its hardships for a whole year.” Her death in the strike was confirmed by other social media posts, including one by her cousin, Ramez Z Ahmed, and in another, which included a photo of her body wrapped in a shroud. The caption wrote that she was “the owner of the kind heart and good conduct.”

One post identified Menna Qandeel as another of one of the children killed in the strike, writing that “her head fell before her body from the third floor to the first floor.” A video of a smiling young girl in a classroom-turned-shelter receiving what appears to be a small chicken in a bag accompanies the text, suggesting that the girl in the video may be Menna.

The IDF released a statement on Telegram declaring their involvement in the strike, writing “A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip. The command and control center, which was embedded inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Nuseirat Girls’ School, was used by Hamas 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.”

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the seventh ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list.