Israeli attacks on Gaza schools amount to war crimes: HRW
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Human Rights Watch says Israeli attacks on Gaza schools sheltering displaced civilians are unlawful and amount to war crimes, urging an arms embargo.
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Displaced Palestinians live in a school run by UNRWA, the UN agency, in Gaza City, on June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)
Israeli forces have carried out repeated and deadly strikes on schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report on Thursday. The group accused "Israel" of unlawfully targeting civilians using US-supplied munitions and called for an international arms embargo.
Since October 2023, Israeli airstrikes have hit hundreds of schools-turned-shelters, killing hundreds and causing near-total destruction of Gaza’s education infrastructure. The report highlights the absence of safe spaces for Gaza’s displaced, with nearly one million Palestinians having sought refuge in schools during the ongoing war.
"Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced families provide a window into the widespread carnage that Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza," said Gerry Simpson, associate crisis, conflict, and arms director at Human Rights Watch.
HRW investigated multiple school strikes, including the July 27, 2024, attack on Khadija Girls’ School in Deir al-Balah and the September 21, 2024, strike on al-Zaytoun C School in Gaza City. The organization found no evidence of military presence at either location and concluded that both attacks were unlawfully indiscriminate under international humanitarian law.
Despite requests for clarification by HRW, Israeli authorities have not provided evidence of military targets at these schools or details of precautionary measures taken to avoid civilian harm. The presence of displaced civilians does not alter the protected status of schools under the laws of war.
Systematic targeting, use of US munitions highlighted
According to the report, 97% of Gaza’s school buildings have sustained damage, with 76% directly hit. HRW also documented the use of US-made GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs in the attacks, raising serious concerns about US complicity in potential war crimes.
Independent reports from +972 Magazine and Local Call revealed that the Israeli military had established a "strike cell" to systematically identify and target schools under the claim that Resistance fighters were operating from them. The use of "double tap" strikes, hitting the same location multiple times to target first responders and survivors, was also reported.
According to the HRW report, the UN and humanitarian organizations have reported that repeated school strikes have displaced thousands of families and worsened the already catastrophic situation. UNRWA confirmed that at least 836 people sheltering in schools had been killed by mid-July 2025.
A recent assessment by the Education Cluster in the occupied Palestinian Territory found that 92% of schools require full reconstruction or major repairs, impacting generations of children and educators. Human Rights Watch emphasized that even if Palestinian fighters were present near some schools, the use of force must still comply with international law. Attacks that cause disproportionate civilian harm relative to anticipated military advantage constitute war crimes.
The group reiterated its call for governments, particularly the United States, to suspend arms transfers to "Israel" due to the clear risk of these weapons being used in serious violations of international law. "Governments should suspend all arms transfers to Israel and take other actions to prevent further mass atrocities," Simpson said.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded in June that Israeli attacks on educational, religious, and cultural sites amount to war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.
Detailed case: Khadija girls’ School, Deir al-Balah
On July 27, 2024, Israeli forces carried out three airstrikes on Khadija Girls’ School in Deir al-Balah, killing at least 15 people, including women and children. The HRW mentions that the school, which had been sheltering around 4,000 displaced people, was also operating a field hospital linked to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
HRW found no signs of any military activity at or near the school. The strikes, some using US-made GBU-39 bombs, destroyed parts of the campus. Social media videos analyzed by HRW show scenes of destruction, injured civilians, and munition remnants.
Despite claims by the Israeli military that the site was being used as a Hamas command center, no evidence has been presented. Witnesses said there was no warning before the initial strike, in which most of the casualties occurred.
On September 21, 2024, an airstrike hit al-Zaytoun C School in Gaza City, killing at least 34 people, mostly women and children. The report details that the school was part of a larger compound sheltering thousands of displaced people, including widows and orphans.
HRW and Airwars found no indication of combatant presence at the site. Videos and witness accounts describe multiple munitions falling without warning. At least one US-made GBU-39 bomb was confirmed to have been used in the strike.
Survivors described horrific scenes: "Suddenly missiles started raining down on us, there was no warning," said one woman. "What have we done as children? We wake up and go to sleep terrified," said a young girl interviewed by the BBC.
