EU top diplomat urges end to 'madness' after Gaza school strike

BRUSSELS, GAZA — EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Saturday called for a "political solution" to end the "madness" in Gaza after the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said an Israeli strike on a school had killed 30 people.

"Ceasefire has to happen now. International Humanitarian Law has to be respected. Humanitarian assistance to civilians needs to be delivered at scale. Only a political solution will end this madness," Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In another post, he said "yet another attack on a school used as a shelter for internal displaced people in Khan Younis... At the same time an already very fragile population is asked to relocate again and again, with no end in sight".

The latest strike, which Israel said targeted "terrorists", was at least the eighth time since July 6 a school has been hit, leaving a total of more than 100 people dead, based on figures given by the health ministry and a hospital source.

With most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people displaced at least once during the war started by Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack, many have sought refuge in school buildings including the one hit on Saturday.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel’s military operation around Khan Yunis has killed about 170 people and wounded hundreds since it started on Monday.

“Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in the Khan Yunis area, we are talking of approximately 170 martyrs and hundreds of wounded,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

He said many people had been displaced again on Saturday as the Israeli operation continued.

“The questions is where will these residents go?” Basal said.

“Anyone who sees the situation in Khan Yunis will witness thousands of people spread out on the ground, on the roads, in areas that unfortunately are not suitable for living.

“With no other options available, they are exposing themselves to death.”

Earlier on Saturday the military issued new evacuation orders for residents of the southern city, after retrieving the bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations.

The United Nations said more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled Khan Yunis since the Israeli operation began on Monday.

The evacuation orders and “intensified hostilities” have “significantly destabilised aid operations”, it added, reporting “dire water, hygiene and sanitation conditions” across the Palestinian territory.