An Israeli strike on a UN-run school shelter in central Gaza killed 30 people, including five children. The attack follows the military's new operations in response to Hamas' October 7 attack.
Gaza: Israeli airstrike hit a school in central Gaza on early thursday, June 6. The UN school was currently turned into a shelter. The military claimed the school was being used as a Hamas compound. The attack resulted in at least 30 deaths, including five children, as reported by local health officials. This strike followed the Israeli military's announcement of new air and ground operations in central Gaza, marking an escalation in their nearly eight-month offensive. This offensive was initiated after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received at least 30 bodies from the school strike and six more from a separate strike on a home. Mohammed al-Kareem, a displaced Palestinian near the hospital, described the chaotic scenes as vehicles arrived continuously with wounded people. Videos online showed injured individuals being treated on the hospital floor, highlighting the overwhelmed state of Gaza’s medical facilities. People were seen searching for their loved ones among bodies wrapped in white shrouds in the hospital courtyard.
The Israeli military stated that fighter jets targeted the school after conducting aerial surveillance and gathering additional intelligence, aiming to reduce civilian harm. However, the school was a shelter run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which has been providing refuge since the start of the war.
Nuseirat, where the strikes occurred, is one of the several refugee camps in Gaza dating back to the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Hamas' attack on October 7 killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostages, prompting Israel's military response, which has resulted in at least 36,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The figures include both fighters and civilians. Israel insists it targets militants and their infrastructure, accusing Hamas of positioning itself in residential areas.
The U.S. has supported a phased cease-fire and hostage release proposed by President Joe Biden. However, Israel aims to continue its operations until Hamas is destroyed, while Hamas demands a lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
In central Gaza, the Israeli military reported operations both above and below ground in Deir al-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp, involving airstrikes followed by ground troop actions.
Doctors Without Borders reported at least 70 bodies and 300 injured people, mostly women and children, brought to a central Gaza hospital after recent strikes. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital struggles to treat the influx of patients, facing severe resource shortages, including a failing generator crucial for operating medical equipment.
Throughout the war, Israel has conducted airstrikes across Gaza and ground operations in major cities like Gaza City and Khan Younis, leading to significant destruction. Troops have also engaged in previous offensives in refugee camps and recently pulled out of the Jabaliya camp after intense fighting.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from AP)
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