Outrage after Israeli forces post video ridiculing destroyed Gaza school

Outrage after Israeli forces post video ridiculing destroyed Gaza school
Several videos of Israeli soldiers appearing to mock Palestinian suffering in Gaza have gone viral since the onslaught began more than three months ago.
2 min read
20 January, 2024
Schools have not been spared from Israel's intensive bombardment of Gaza [Said Khatib/AFP via Getty]

Israeli soldiers have reportedly posted a video on social media mocking the destruction of a school in Gaza.

In the video posted to TikTok earlier this week by an account holder using the name Ofek Yakolev, purportedly an Israeli soldier in Gaza, two soldiers appear in a sketch as a student and teacher in a classroom that has suffered blast damage.

When the confused student, who appears to be dressed up as a fighter from the Palestinian group Hamas, is unable to answer a question, the teacher jumps out of a hole in the classroom wall.

Several similar videos from Israeli soldiers have gone viral since Israel began its onslaught on Gaza on 7 October, including videos filmed at blast-damaged homes, schools and shops.

These videos have been condemned for making a mockery of the suffering of Palestinian civilians in the war that has killed almost 25,000 people in Gaza so far and displaced almost all of the territory’s population.

Israel has been under intense scrutiny for its military tactics in Gaza which have caused extensive destruction and a high civilian death toll.

Israeli officials vowed that disciplinary action would be taken against soldiers who record such videos, though it remains unclear if such action was taken as more videos surface online.

With bombings destroying homes, Palestinians were taking shelter in schools, hospitals and places of worship in their tens of thousands.

But Israel's intensive air and ground campaign has not spared these sites from bombardment.

Schools have also been turned into Israeli military barracks, and even been used as the site of field executions.