イスラエル軍のガザ学校空爆、各国が非難

【ガザ市（パレスチナ自治区）ＡＦＰ＝時事】パレスチナ自治区ガザ市の学校がイスラエル軍に空爆され避難民少なくとも９３人が死亡したのを受け、各国は１０日、イスラエルを非難するとともに、即時停戦を改めて求めた。（写真は、パレスチナ自治区ガザ市で、イスラエル軍の攻撃を受けた学校で泣き叫ぶ男性）
　ガザ地区の民間防衛当局によると、ガザ市のタービイーン宗教学校とモスクがイスラエルの攻撃を受け、少なくとも９３人が死亡。うち１７人は女性と子どもだった。イスラエルとイスラム組織ハマスの戦闘が始まって以来、１回の攻撃としては犠牲者を最も多く出した惨事の一つとなった。
　イスラエル軍は死者数に異議を唱えている。また、攻撃で少なくとも１９人の「テロリスト」を殺害したと発表した。
　各国・機関の反応をまとめた。
　■米国
　ホワイトハウスは声明で、「民間人の犠牲に関する報を深く懸念している」とし、情報を収集中だと述べた。その上で、攻撃により「停戦と人質解放の緊急性が強つ示された」とし、「われわれは実現に向け鋭意努力する」とした。
　■英国
　デービッド・ラミー外相はＸ（旧ツイッター）に「タービイーン学校へのイスラエル軍の攻撃と悲劇的な人命喪失にがくぜんとしている」と投稿。「民間人を保護し、すべての人質を解放し、援助に対する制限を終わらせるために即時停戦を必要としている」と訴えた。
　■フランス
　外務省は声明で、「数週間にわたって学校の建物が繰り返し標的にされ、耐えがたい数の民間人が犠牲になっている」と指摘。「イスラエルは国際人道法を尊重しなければならない」と述べた。
　■欧州連合（ＥＵ）
　ジョセップ・ボレル外交安全保障上級代表（外相）はＸで、避難所となっていた学校がイスラエルの攻撃を受けた映像に「戦慄（せんりつ）を覚えた」とコメント。「過去数週間で少なくとも１０校が標的にされた。こうした虐殺に正当化の余地はない」と断じた。
　■エジプト
　イスラエルと外交関係を持ち、イスラエル・ハマス間の交渉にも関与しているエジプトは、今回の攻撃は「国際法と人道法をないがしろにして行われた」として、「イスラエル側にこの凶暴な戦争を終わらせる意思がない」ことを示していると述べた。
　■イラン
　イラン外務省のナセル・カナニ報道官は、今回の攻撃が「イスラエルが国際法や道徳的・人道的原則を一切尊重していないことを改めて示した」と語った。
　■レバノンのイスラム教シーア派組織ヒズボラは、攻撃を「恐ろしい虐殺」と表現し、パレスチナ人との連帯を示すため、世界中でイスラエルに対し非難の声を上げるよう呼びかけた。
　■世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）
　テドロス・アダノム・ゲブレイェスス事務局長はＸに、「言葉を失った」と投稿。「停戦までにあと何人の女性と子どもが命を失うのか？ ガザの民間人が耐えている恐怖を終わらせなければならない」と訴えた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/13-17:04）

Rescuers in Gaza said an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians killed 93 people on Saturday, sparking international condemnation despite Israel's insistence that it was targeting militants.
AFP could not independently verify the toll which, if confirmed, would be one of the largest from a single strike during 10 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants since Hamas's October 7 attack.
The bombardment of Al-Tabieen religious school and mosque drew criticism from across the Middle East and beyond alongside calls for a ceasefire, after international mediators invited the warring sides to resume talks towards a long-sought truce and hostage-release deal.
Civil defence rescuers in the Hamas-ruled territory said three Israeli missiles hit the complex in Gaza City while people were performing dawn prayers. The military confirmed it had used three precise munitions.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, said 11 children and six women were among the 93 who died at the school shelter, and there are many unidentified body parts.
They dropped a missile on them while they were just praying, said one woman, mourning over a dead child shrouded in a plastic body bag.
Israel's military said it had precisely struck Al-Tabieen, later adding that intelligence suggested at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated.
Hamas denounced it as a dangerous escalation, while the Palestinian group's Lebanese ally Hezbollah called it a horrific massacre.
Iran, which backs both militant groups and had accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East following high-profile killings in Tehran and Beirut, condemned what it called a barbaric attack.
Those who were inside the mosque were all killed, said local resident Abu Wassim. Even the floor above, where women and children were sleeping, was completely burned.
With nearly all of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people displaced at least once during the war, many have sought refuge in school buildings, which have been hit at least 14 times since July 6, according to an AFP tally.
- 'Intolerable' toll -
Israel has made similar accusations of armed activities after strikes on school shelters, while Hamas has denied using civilian facilities for military aims.
US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Hamas has been operating out of schools, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimise civilian harm.
Jordan's foreign ministry said the timing was an indication of Israel's efforts to obstruct and thwart the latest mediation effort.
One of the mediators, Qatar, called for an urgent international investigation, while Turkey claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to sabotage ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas's October 7 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,790 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the school strike left him horrified.
France said Israel must respect international humanitarian law.
For several weeks, school buildings have been repeatedly targeted, with an intolerable number of civilian victims, the French foreign ministry said.
- Measured response -
Netanyahu's office on Thursday said Israel would send negotiators to conclude the details of implementing a deal, after the joint invitation from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Hamas has yet to formally respond.
Hamas officials, some analysts and critics in Israel have said Netanyahu has sought to prolong the fighting for political gain.
Anti-government protesters rallied again on Saturday in Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv and in the northern city of Haifa to pressure their leaders to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Savett, the US spokesman, said the Gaza City strike underscores the urgency of a ceasefire and hostage deal.
The mediators invited the warring parties to resume talks on August 15, after intense diplomacy aimed at averting a region-wide conflagration in recent days.
The Gaza conflict has already drawn in Iran-aligned groups around the region, but fears of a broader war have surged following the killings of two senior militants, including Hamas's political leader.
Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and others have vowed retaliation, although they have yet to take action.
Asked what his message was to Iran, US President Joe Biden responded: Don't, as he walked out of Saturday evening mass in Delaware.
Hezbollah, which has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces throughout the war, on Saturday said it had fired squadrons of explosive-laden drones at an army base in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas commander in south Lebanon on Friday.
The killing on July 31 of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh during a visit to Tehran had sidelined truce talks. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel, which has not directly commented.
Iran's mission to the United Nations on Saturday said the Islamic republic has the legitimate right to self-defence after its sovereignty was violated.
However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire, it said.