SRINAGAR: At least 25 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school being used as a shelter in northern Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. More than 55 others were injured, said Fahmy Awad, head of the ministry’s emergency service. He said the school was struck three times while people were sleeping, and a father with his five children were among those killed.
The Israeli military said it targeted a command and control centre inside the school used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to coordinate attacks. It said militants were gathering intelligence at the site. The military added that Hamas’s presence in civilian areas contributes to civilian casualties.
Footage circulated online showed rescue workers trying to put out fires and recovering burnt bodies from the site.
Israel renewed its military campaign in Gaza in March after the breakdown of a ceasefire with Hamas. It has pledged to continue operations until Hamas is dismantled and the remaining hostages from the October 7, 2023 attack are returned. Of the 251 hostages taken that day, 58 remain in captivity. A third of them are believed to be alive. The October 7 attack by Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians.
Since the start of Israel’s military response, around 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry says more than half of those killed are women and children. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.
