Strikes on two schools kill 12 Palestinians
- Gaza’s Civil Defence reports that Israeli bombing of the al-Zahraa School and the Abdel Fattah Hamoud School kills 12 Palestinians.
- Palestine’s Wafa news agency reports an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp kills at least 15 Palestinians.
Netanyahu: Israel should have waged war against Hamas sooner
In an exclusive interview given to the US’s Time Magazine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he made a mistake not launching a full-scale war against the Palestinian group in the years leading up to its October 7 attacks on Israel.
He blamed the Israeli security establishment for its hesitation, and himself for acceding to their reluctance.
“October 7 showed that those who said that Hamas was deterred were wrong,” he said to Time during his interview. “If anything, I didn’t challenge enough the assumption that was common to all the security agencies.”
The prime minister responded to those who say that his policy towards Hamas prior to its attack on Israel was cynical, keeping it alive enough to pose a threat to Isreal in order to keep US pressure to make a breakthrough on the establishment of a two-state solution at bay, and to deepen political divisions between Gaza and the West Bank.
Of his approval of large infusions of cash to the Hamas government in Gaza from Qatar, which supported the Palestinian group, Netanyahu said, “We wanted to make sure that Gaza has a functioning civilian administration to avoid humanitarian collapse”. He also claimed that the money didn’t form the basis of Hamas’s threat to Israel.
He also spoke about plans for the “day after” the war in Gaza, attempting to refute criticism saying he has no plan for the administration of the Strip after Israel’s war comes to an end.
I’d like to see a civilian administration run by Gazans, perhaps with the support of regional partners,” he said. “Demilitarisation by Israel, civilian administration by Gaza.”
Arab countries, including the Gulf states, have expressed reluctance to enter into any agreement that would hold them responsible for the administration of the Gaza Strip.
Israel says it struck Hamas command centres embedded in Gaza schools
The Israeli military says it struck Hamas command centres embedded in the areas of two schools in the Gaza Strip, which were used to carry out attacks against Israeli troops.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the military said.
“The school compounds were used by Hamas terrorists and commanders as command-and-control centres, from which they planned and carried out attacks against [Israeli] troops and the state of Israel,” it said.
As we reported earlier, Gaza’s civil defence reports that Israeli bombings hit the al-Zahraa School and the Abdel Fattah Hamoud School, both in the eastern area of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 12 Palestinians.
Israel bombs two schools, kills 12 Palestinians
Gaza’s Civil Defence reports that an Israeli bombing has hit the al-Zahraa School and the Abdel Fattah Hamoud School, both in the eastern area of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip.
The rescue organisation says that seven people were killed in the al-Zahraa School and five in the Hamoud School, bringing the death toll across both of these attacks to 12.
