An Israeli air strike targeted a UN school housing displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, reportedly resulting in the deaths of at least 35 people.
According to the BBC, the attack involved two missiles fired at classrooms on the top floor of the school located in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, causing extensive destruction and numerous casualties.
Israel’s military stated that it had conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound within the school premises, claiming to have killed many of the 20 to 30 fighters believed to be inside. However, Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office refuted this assertion, accusing Israel of perpetrating a “horrific massacre.”
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), responsible for the school, condemned the incident as “horrific” and expressed shock at the suggestion that armed groups might have been present in a shelter.
Following the attack, dead and wounded individuals were rushed to the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah, which has been overwhelmed since the Israeli military commenced a new ground operation against Hamas in central Gaza earlier in the week.
