Israel strikes UN school in Gaza, killing dozens

Palestinians mourn relatives killed at a UN-run school after an Israeli airstrike Photo: AP/Abdel Karim Hana

At least 30 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a United Nations school in the center of the Gaza Strip where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, local health officials said.

Among the dead were 23 women and children.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a «precision strike» was carried out on a Hamas compound at the Al-Sardi school, which is run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).

The statement said that for «a number of steps» were taken to reduce harm to civilians, including aerial surveillance and «additional intelligence information.»

The attack comes as Israel expands its operations in the Gaza Strip as senior regional and U.S. officials struggle to help negotiate a ceasefire plan acceptable to both the Israeli government and Hamas.

Earlier this week, the Israeli military announced a new ground and air attack in the center of the Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas militants who have reappeared in previously cleared areas.

On Wednesday, the IDF said it had also discovered and destroyed a major Hamas tunnel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, near the border crossing with Egypt, which it said was used by the terrorist group to smuggle weapons into the strip.

According According to an Axios report, the IDF said the Al-Sardi compound was targeted because it was home to Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives who belonged to Nukhba's elite forces and took part in the October 7 attacks.

Witnesses to the pre-dawn strike and hospital staff confirmed numerous civilian casualties among refugees who were sheltered after earlier fleeing Israeli offensives and bombing in northern Gaza.

Ayman Rashed, a man displaced from Gaza City, who seized the school's shelter told The Associated Press that rockets hit classrooms on the second and third floors where families were sleeping.

At least 30 people, including 23 women and children, were killed when rockets hit the school. Photo: Shutterstock/Mohammed Saber

He said he helped carry out five dead, including an old man and two children, one of whom had a broken head. openly.

“It was dark, there was no electricity and we were struggling to get the victims out,” Mr. Rashed said.

Hamas denies there was a hidden command post at the school . .

Juliet Thoma, UNRWA communications director, said its schools or facilities were never used for “military or combat purposes.”

UNRWA said its schools and facilities were never used for «military or combat purposes.» Photo: Shutterstock/Mohammed Saber

The strike will heighten international criticism over the rising number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip during the eight-month war.

The strike in Gaza has killed at least 45 people. tent camp in Rafah last month as the IDF also targeted Hamas members.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorus incendiary shells to target homes in at least five conflict-ridden towns and villages. — hit southern Lebanon, possibly causing «respiratory injury» among civilians and violating international law.

The Israeli military denies using the chemical to attack civilians and says it was only used as a smoke screen. It said it continues to comply with international law regarding ammunition.