The bodies of at least 30 Palestinians were discovered under a mound of rubble at the grounds of the Khalifa bin Zayed elementary school in Beit Lahia city, northern Gaza Strip, on January 31, 2024. (Photo via social media)

Beit Lahia, January 31 (RHC)-- The bodies of 30 Palestinians have been discovered from under rubble at a school ground in the city of Beit Lahia, the northern Gaza Strip, reports said.

Al Jazeera Arabic and Palestinian media reported on Wednesday that the Khalifa bin Zayed elementary school witnessed the discovery following the withdrawal of Israeli troops.  There were black body bags tied with plastic cables bearing Hebrew writing.  When the Palestinians were killed is unknown.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Club confirmed “the discovery of the bodies of 30 martyrs inside one of the schools that was besieged by the occupation.”  “They were handcuffed and blindfolded, that is, they were under arrest, which is a clear indication that the occupation carried out a field execution against them,” the statement said.

The school served as a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians before it was bombed and besieged by Israeli forces in early December.

Figures show more children have been killed in Gaza in three weeks than the annual total in global conflicts over the past 4 years.

The school had been funded by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, since 2010.

The humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic levels.  The United Nations has warned that residents of Gaza are facing a growing threat of infectious diseases.

Israel has killed more than 26,900 people, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The regime was caught off-guard by the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm conducted by the Palestinian resistance fighters on that October day.