On 13 December 2023, the bodies of fifteen Palestinians were discovered at the Shadia Abu Ghazala School, west of Jabalia refugee camp in Al-Faluja, Gaza Strip. The school had been used as a shelter and had been surrounded by the Israeli military for several days.[1][2] Images released several days after showed damage to the school's interior.[3]
Witnesses
Eyewitnesses reported the victims had been shot and killed point-blank by Israeli soldiers.[4][5] A woman stated, "They took all men, then entered classrooms and opened fire on a woman and all the children with her."[6]
A grandfather of some of the victims stated that IDF soldiers had entered the school and began shooting indiscriminately, stating, "They are my children and grandchildren. Why did they shoot them in front of my eyes?"[7]
The brother of one of the victims stated that when he returned to the scene, he found the bodies of his family shot at point-blank range, "swollen and filled with worms".[8]