The Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out a “precise strike” on the school targeting Hamas members, in a statement posted to Telegram on Wednesday. It said the militant group was using the compound as a “command and control center” to plan and execute attacks against Israeli troops, without providing evidence.
It added that “numerous steps” were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
In a later statement on X, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said it had asked UNRWA to provide the names of the workers killed.
He added that a military inquiry suggested that “a significant number” of those killed, as named in the media and social media, were “Hamas terrorist operatives who took part in terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF troops.”
He did not provide any evidence to back up his statement.
NBC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on claims that the school was being used as a base by Hamas and that its fighters were among those killed.
