Maldives’ leader calls for Israel to be held accountable after deadly Gaza school attack

Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu called for immediate global action to hold Israel accountable on Sunday, after a deadly attack on a school-turned-shelter for the displaced in Gaza killed over 100 Palestinians.

Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in the Daraj district of Gaza City at dawn on Saturday, killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more.

In a post on X on Sunday morning, President Muizzu strongly condemned the Israeli targeting of yet another school in Gaza.

He called the scenes of martyred and injured women, children, and the elderly “horrifying.”

“Over 39,000 innocent Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October, with Israel showing no effort toward a ceasefire,” he said.

President Muizzu said that it was a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and called for immediate global action to hold Israel accountable.

“The international community must act immediately to hold Israel accountable and protect civilians” he said.

The Gaza City school attack was described by paramedics and others at the scene as horrific, with “bodies ripped to pieces”.

The Israeli military said its air forces struck a “command and control center” that “served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders”.

Without providing evidence, the Israeli military said in a separate statement that it had intelligence indicating there were 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including senior commanders, operating from the school - a claim that was rejected by Hamas.

It did not provide evidence and said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians while dismissing the death toll from Palestinian officials as inaccurate.

Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked schools used as shelters in Gaza, claiming they are command centers for Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the territory, to hide fighters and manufacture weapons.

The bombing comes as Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks on August 15 to reach a ceasefire.

The attack was condemned by Qatar and Egypt – two of the key mediators leading negotiations for a ceasefire – among several other countries. Palestinian political factions, as well as NGOs and the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) also denounced the strike.

Over 39,790 people have been killed and 92,002 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza.