At Least 40 Killed in Israeli Strike on UN Shelter in Gaza

Facts

• Israel struck a school run by the UN's primary Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, according to local health authorities. The school had been used as a shelter for hundreds of displaced Palestinians.¹
• The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying that it had targeted a gathering of 20-30 members of Hamas' elite Nukhba force and made every effort to mitigate civilian casualties. It hasn't been independently confirmed that militants were present at the site.²
• As the fighting continues, Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's director of intelligence met with senior Hamas officials in Doha on Wednesday to discuss the most recent cease-fire proposal. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said that the group will consider 'sincerely and positively' any proposal that ends the war.³
• Meanwhile, tensions rose in Jerusalem on Wednesday as tens of thousands of Israelis marched through East Jerusalem to celebrate its capture in the 1967 War. Israeli police said they arrested 18 marchers, including for assaulting a journalist.⁴
• Right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said during the march that 'Jerusalem is ours. Damascus Gate is ours. The Temple Mount is ours.' In response, the prime minister's office said that 'the status quo at the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.'⁵
• Ben-Gvir said separately on Wednesday that his party would 'disrupt' the ruling coalition until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discloses details of the most recent cease-fire proposal.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Timesofisrael, ³Axios, ⁴Reuters (a), ⁵Jerusalem Post and ⁶Reuters (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. It is simply undeniable that the war in Gaza has taken a terrible toll on its population, and the US is committed to alleviating that suffering. Nonetheless, baseless accusations are unhelpful and may even jeopardize negotiations for a cease-fire. The US has managed to leverage its position to improve the situation, and Israel has worked toward addressing US concerns.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. In contrast to the cynical predictions made by US politicians, Israel has been quite successful in limiting civilian casualties. War is never pretty, and Israel has tried its best to reduce the suffering of Palestinian civilians. In this most recent strike, terrorists who participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre were meticulously tracked, and Israeli forces even called off the strike twice to avoid civilian casualties. Most, if not all, of those killed on Thursday were terrorists.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. It should be clear after almost eight months of grinding brutality that Israel's true goal is to destroy Gaza and starve its people. The Biden administration, which has obscured its support for the Rafah offensive, has helped Israel destroy Gaza at every step of the way, even providing the bombs that burned dozens of women and children alive in a tent camp. Israel is committing daily massacres in Gaza, and the US is fully complicit.

Predictions