Harris laments over 'far too many' civilian deaths in Gaza

US Vice-President Kamala Harris denounced the civilian casualties that were sustained after an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school facility.

 According to the hospital's director, around 70 individuals died at the facility that provided refuge to Palestinian refugees. Echoing remarks from the White House, Ms. Harris said that "far too many" people had been killed "yet again" and reaffirmed calls for a ceasefire and a hostage negotiation. Al-Taba'een School "operated as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility," according to an Israeli military official, a claim that Hamas disputes.

Ms. Harris asserted that while Israel has the right to "go after Hamas," it also has "an important responsibility" to prevent civilian casualties while speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona. The presidential candidate of the Democratic Party also restated demands for a hostage agreement and a ceasefire. Western and regional countries have criticized Saturday's airstrike, with Egypt claiming it demonstrated Israel's lack of interest in negotiating a ceasefire or putting an end to the Gaza conflict.

About 70 fatalities have been identified thus far, according to Fadl Naeem, head of al-Ahli Hospital, where many of the wounded were transferred. Identification of the remains of many more victims is challenging because of their severe disfigurement.

The Israeli military claimed that it had "precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control centre embedded in the al-Taba'een school" . According to an Israeli Security Agency and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announcement, "at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists" were "eliminated" in the attack. According to IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, there is a "high probability" that Ashraf Juda, the leader of Islamic Jihad's Central Camps Brigade, was present at the Taba'een school at the time of the attack based on "various intelligence indications." He said that it is yet unclear if the attack claimed the commander's life.

In recent weeks, Israel has attacked multiple similar shelters in Gaza. As of July 6, 477 out of 564 school buildings in Gaza had been directly hit or destroyed, and more than a dozen more had been targeted, according to the UN. More than a thousand individuals were sheltered at Al-Taba'een School, which had just taken in scores of displaced Palestinians from Beit Hanoun after the Israeli army gave them orders to vacate their homes. According to witnesses, the Israeli strike occurred during dawn prayers, and the facility also functioned as a mosque.