‘Just civilians’: Families of Gaza school strike victims refute Hamas links | Israel-Palestine conflict

Deir el-Balah, Gaza – In the early hours of Saturday morning, 24-year-old Sajida al-Kafarna was sleeping with her family inside a school classroom when they were woken by a huge explosion.

“We reassured each other that we were OK, but when I noticed my father’s empty place, panic set in because he had gone to pray dawn prayer,” recounted Sajida.

Sajida’s family was among the roughly 2,400 displaced Palestinians sheltering at al-Tabin School. Her father, Abdul Aziz al-Kafarna, 58, was inside the school’s small mosque when Israel bombed the building.

Sajida paused, holding back sobs.

“My mother, my siblings, and I all rushed to find him. The school was ablaze, and everyone was screaming hysterically,” she recalled, speaking to Al Jazeera over the phone from the Daraj district in central Gaza City.

Sajida described harrowing scenes as she frantically searched for her father among the dead.

“One person was still on fire, calling for help, but no one could save him. He burned in front of us, and no one could get in to help,” Sajida recalled in a trembling voice.

“We tried to douse the flames, then we used our mobile flashlights to search for my father because it was still dark.”

She remembers scrambling over torn limbs trying to find her father, her clothes and hands getting covered in blood. Sajida, her five siblings and their mother spent nearly two hours searching for Abdul. Then, “My mother broke down, screaming at us to stop. ‘Enough. Let’s go back. Your father was torn to pieces,’” she recounted.

The family returned to their classroom in a state of collapse. But Sajida couldn’t rest without finding some trace of her father. So she sneaked out again with one brother to continue their search. “Civil defence crews tried to stop us, but we insisted,” Sajida said.

Soon afterwards, she found Abdul’s body in the corner of the mosque, buried under the remains of other victims. “Thank God, my father’s body was one of the few that wasn’t completely dismembered,” she shared, bursting into tears.

She watched as people around her gathered people’s remains to bury – unsure of whether they belonged to their loved ones. “It was unbearable,” Sajida said.

Israel’s claims

The Israeli attack on al-Tabin School killed more than 100 Palestinians, including women, children and elderly people.

Israel said it struck a “command and control centre” for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters. Hamas has rejected these claims.

Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked schools in Gaza where people are sheltering, claiming they are operating centres for Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, to hide fighters and weapons. Hamas denies operating from civilian facilities.

Israel is known to step up attacks as ceasefire talks progress as a pressure tactic. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have called on Israel and Hamas to resume peace talks on August 15.

Without providing any evidence, Israel claimed 19 fighters were killed in the deadly strike. Yesterday, the number was revised to 31.

A probe by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification agency found that Israel targeted and killed civilians by sending precision bombs to a prayer hall housing families and the men’s chapel below as morning prayers were starting. Israel used US-made GBU-39 SDB bombs in its attack, which was “deliberately timed to cause maximum casualties”, the investigation said.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor non-profit organisation said its initial investigations showed no evidence of military operations at the school.

Ash Hamdan, a senior researcher and coordinator at the Forensic Architecture Investigation Unit of Ramallah-based human rights organisation Al-Haq, told Al Jazeera that footage obtained from the group’s field researchers showed no signs of military equipment at the school. Hamdan noted that what was visible were cooking utensils, mattresses and bedding, showing that the space was being used as a shelter. Hamdan also said Israel’s list of alleged fighters includes people who had been previously killed and that the organisation is in the process of verifying the 31 names.

Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and a Palestinian national, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that of the initial 19, at least three had been killed previously and nine were civilians with no military ties.

Al Jazeera spoke to some of the families of victims Israel claims were fighters. The families refute these claims. The victims included a hospital administration director, a retired principal, a scholar of Arabic language and literature, and a man who was killed in December.

‘100 percent false’

For Sajida, the shock and devastation of losing her father was only compounded when she saw his picture on the list issued by the Israeli army of alleged fighters killed in the strike.

“This is 100 percent false,” Sajida said of the accusation. She explained that Abdul, a father of nine, was the director of administrative services at Beit Hanoon Hospital, and the deputy mayor of Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza.

“My father was known everywhere. He had a good reputation, was dedicated to his work, and had a routine. He loved helping people and was always cheerful,” Sajida shared. “Just two days ago, he was handwashing laundry with us, joking about bringing more [laundry] if we had any.”

For the past nine months that the family had been displaced at the school, Sajida’s father had volunteered there, helping with administrative tasks and distributing aid.

“Why wasn’t he targeted during all this time if he was involved in politics or military activities with Hamas, as they claim? Israel is always looking for flimsy excuses to target civilians, especially in shelters,” Sajida said.

“The horror I witnessed in the school massacre will take years to heal from, if I ever can. There is no justification for bombing people and tearing their bodies apart with such brutality.”

‘A father in every sense of the word’

Manar Eltif, 36, was devastated by her father’s death in Saturday’s attack.

Like Sajida, she was shocked when she saw the photo of her 65-year-old father Mohammad Eltif among the individuals Israel claimed were fighters.

Manar insists her father’s life was “far from politics”.

“My father was the pillar of my life. He used to tell me, ‘You are my princess.’ He was very caring about me. He loved my children, his grandchildren. He used to drive them every day to school where I worked as a teacher,” she shared. They would be in touch around the clock and whenever one of her children was sick, he would worry and take them to the pharmacy or doctor, Manar said, noting “He was a father in every sense of the word.”

Mohammad was a retired school principal who had worked as a government English teacher for the Palestinian National Authority’s Ministry of Education, Manar told Al Jazeera, speaking from Egypt where she and her four children escaped to in February.

“After my father retired, he became active as a social reformer, resolving internal conflicts with local committees,” Manar shared. “He also loved attending literary seminars and conferences in the area.”

He was a “first-class athlete” and also a passionate football referee, overseeing matches between clubs and local sports teams.

“My father’s life motto was ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’. He had a vast knowledge of nutrition, cared deeply about his health, and encouraged us to exercise,” she said. “I grew up seeing him in a black referee’s uniform, with a whistle and a yellow card.”

Sharing joy and sorrow

Mohammad and his four sons, Manar’s younger siblings, were displaced about seven times from the Shujayea neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City before settling in al-Tabin School.

Mohammad was cheerful, said Manar. “Every day, I called my father to check on his health and spirits. He was always patient and never complained, despite the difficult conditions in Gaza.”

On Saturday, Manar woke to the news that dawn worshippers at al-Tabin School had been targeted.

“I had a deep feeling my father was among the martyrs because I knew his daily commitment to performing the dawn prayer,” she said, her voice breaking.

“Then the news came confirming his martyrdom and that his body had been torn to pieces.”

She continued: “I don’t understand the justification for targeting worshipers in a mosque. Even the excuse of belonging to Hamas isn’t a justification for bombing civilians in this way.”

According to Manar, her father had volunteered at the school by solving problems for displaced people and supervising their affairs.

“Just the day before he was killed, my father told me how he went with a young man to propose to a girl and helped complete the engagement ceremony,” Manar added. “This was his nature throughout his life—serving people and sharing in their joys and sorrows.”

‘This war is against us, the civilians’

What saddens Manar the most is that she couldn’t say goodbye to Mohammad or be with him before he died.

“The war has scattered and divided us. I lost two brothers at the beginning of the war when a bomb struck our family home in Shujayea. My family was besieged in a school, and my mother and other women were forced to move south. I had to move from north to south and eventually decided to leave for Egypt,” she said.

“Despite all of this, Israel continues to claim they are targeting Hamas fighters. This war is against us, the civilians, through and through.”

Manar said that the accusation against her father was not unique. Another victim of the bombing also on Israel’s list was Youssef al-Kahlout, a prominent university lecturer with whom Manar had studied the Arabic language.

“Dr Youssef was an angel on earth, a respected academic and intellectual who we have now lost. As usual, he was also accused of being part of Hamas,” Manar said.

“Israel is continuing its annihilation, and these claims are just attempts to cover up their ongoing crimes against us.”

Targeting scholars and scientists

Youssef, 63, was a professor of Arabic language, literature, and criticism at the Faculty of Arts at the Islamic University of Gaza.

His niece, 31-year-old Reem al-Kahlout, shared that the family was devastated by the news of his killing.

“It’s true that my uncle was sympathetic to Hamas, but that does not justify targeting him in any way,” said Reem, speaking from central Gaza. She clarified that her uncle had no political or military connection to Hamas.

“My uncle Youssef was the dearest to us among all my uncles. He was incredibly sensitive and tender-hearted. His students at the university loved his lectures, and his death has deeply affected them,” Reem added.

Al-Kahlout had fled with his wife and six children from their home in northern Gaza City, initially seeking refuge at al-Shifa Hospital before moving to al-Tabin School in December.

On Saturday morning, Reem woke to calls from her father and brothers informing her that her uncle had been killed alongside other worshippers.

“It was heartbreaking, especially since his body was torn to pieces, leaving nothing to bury,” she said.

“My uncle naturally feared war and bombings. He lived in constant tension. How could someone with this disposition have military tendencies, as the Israelis claim?

“Targeting my uncle is part of a broader pattern of targeting educated people, academics, and society’s elite during this war. This is a campaign aimed at annihilating intellectual minds and everything valuable and vital in our society.”

Al-Kahlout was a respected scholar with numerous literary and poetic works, including critical readings and explorations of Islamic ethics in Andalusian poetry.

More than 100 scientists, academics, university professors, and researchers have been killed by Israel’s war on Gaza, including prominent scientist Sufyan Tayeh, the president of the Islamic University of Gaza, and renowned burn specialist and plastic surgeon Medhat Saidam, while 103 universities and schools have been destroyed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza government media office. Israel has killed at least 39,929 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7.

‘A crime’

Ahmed Ihab al-Jaabari was also on Israel’s list of alleged fighters killed on Saturday. The 31-year-old was in fact killed in December in an Israeli attack on Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, according to his family.

Ahmed’s father, 58-year-old Ihab, a father of seven, also appeared on the list. He was killed in Saturday’s strike.

“My uncle Ihab was a civil servant with no political activities,” 20-year-old Bahaa al-Jaabari told Al Jazeera. “[The accusation against] Ahmed is false because he was killed eight months ago.”

When Bahaa, who is displaced near al-Tabin, heard about the bombing, he rushed to the school. “The situation was indescribably tragic,” he said.

His 31-year-old brother Mahmoud al-Jaabari was also killed in the bombing along with his uncles and cousins.

“My brother’s body was torn to pieces. We lost seven members of our family in this massacre, and the occupation is still trying to justify it by claiming they were targeting Hamas,” he said.

“Dismembered body parts, charred bodies—what happened is a crime, and the occupation’s words are just failed attempts at justification.”