Geneva, August 12 (RHC)-- An initial investigation by the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has found no evidence of a military presence at the site of the al-Tabin School massacre in Gaza that killed more than 120 people.
“According to all available information and testimonies, there were no military gatherings or command centers at the school, and it was never used for military objectives. Survivors testified that the school was providing shelter to hundreds of children whose families felt safe there,” the Euro-Med said on Sunday.
“The narrow layout of the school and the lack of launch pads and shelters would make it impossible for the site to be used for military operations. The building’s cramped layout and tight spaces make it unsuitable for military operations that call for planning and logistical assistance,” the group said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group denied Israeli claims Sunday about the presence of resistance fighters inside the Gaza school. "We categorically deny the enemy's allegations that there were armed men inside the school,” the Palestinian resistance group said in a brief statement.
“These lies promoted by the enemy aim to sow confusion and escape accountability as it continues its war of extermination against our people intending to kill as many as possible,” it added.
Hamas resistance movement has also denounced the Israeli claims as “an attempt to justify its heinous crime." Ezzat al-Resheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said the massacre at al-Tabin School early on Saturday was part of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and a dangerous escalation.
An Israeli military spokesman claimed that the school “served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility.”
Al-Resheq roundly rejected the allegation, saying all Palestinian resistance groups followed the policy of not being present among civilians to prevent them from being targeted.
The Israeli regime has frequently used the allegation as a pretext to attack civilian buildings in Gaza, including hospitals and schools.
Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said the Israeli attack on the school was another indication that the occupying regime was trying to wipe the Palestinians out of Gaza. Hezbollah said on Saturday that the Israeli talk of a Gaza ceasefire and the announcement of dates for resuming ceasefire negotiations are treachery and deceit.
The Gaza media office said the strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to the high casualty count. Iran and several other nations have already strongly condemned a "barbaric" Israeli air strike on the school in Gaza housing displaced Palestinians.
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani said in remarks on Sunday that the mass killing of Palestinians has revealed the terrorist nature of the Zionist regime, the true face of its inhumane supporters, and the falsehood of the US human rights slogans.
He emphasized that the regime's escalating brutality shows its fear of collapse.
The Israeli war on Gaza, which began in October, has claimed the lives of nearly 40,000, mostly women and children.
