An Israeli strike early Thursday on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed more than 30 people, including 23 women and children, according to local health officials.
Palestinians check the bodies of their relatives killed in an Israeli bombardment of UNRWA school at Nusseirat refugee camp, in front of the morgue of al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, June 6, 2024. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military said that Hamas fighters were operating from within the school.
Ayman Rashed, a man displaced from Gaza City who was sheltering at the school, said the missiles hit classrooms on the second and third floor where families were sheltering. He said he helped carry out five dead, including an old man and two children, one with his head shattered open. “It was dark, with no electricity, and we struggled to get out the victims,” Rashed said.
Hospital records and an Associated Press reporter at the hospital recorded at least 33 dead from the strike, including 14 children and nine women. Another strike on a house overnight killed six people, according to the records. Both strikes occurred in Nuseirat, one of several built-up refugee camps in Gaza dating to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes in what became the new state.
UNRWA schools across Gaza have functioned as shelters since the start of the war, which has driven most of the territory’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, in which Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Israel’s offensive has killed at least 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its figures.
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s government have threatened to bring down the coalition if he signs onto a cease-fire deal. On Wednesday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a leading hard-liner, spoke at an annual march through Jerusalem’s Old City, saying, “We are delivering a message from here to Hamas: Jerusalem is ours. Damascus Gate is ours” — referring to a main gate into the Arab-majority section of the city — “And with God’s help total victory is ours.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israeli strike kills dozens at Gaza school the military claims was being used by HamasPalestinian health officials say an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families in central Gaza killed at least 33 people including 23 women and children.
Read more »
Dozens killed in strike on Gaza school Israeli military says was being used by HamasChantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Read more »
Live blog: Hamas seeks lasting Gaza truce, complete Israeli withdrawalIsrael's war on Gaza, now in its 242nd day, has killed at least 36,550 Palestinians — with 71 percent of them being women, children and infants –– and wounded 82,959 since Oct. 7.
Read more »
IDF pounds Gaza as Hamas says captured Israeli soldierIsraeli warplanes and artillery pounded Rafah, after the government dismissed an order by the top UN court to halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city. Meanwhile Hamas claimed to have captured an Israeli soldier during fighting in northern Gaza and released video late Saturday showing a wounded man being dragged through a tunnel.
Read more »
Live blog: Hamas announces capture of Israeli soldiers in GazaIsrael has killed at least 35,903 Palestinians — including babies, children, and women — and wounded 80,420 in its 232-day war on Gaza.
Read more »
Israeli forces recover bodies of three more hostages held by Hamas in GazaThe number of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now sits at 125.
Read more »