Israeli forces bombed a United Nations school in central Gaza early Thursday, killing dozens at the facility that had provided shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians. The Israeli military said the attack was aimed at Hamas operatives, but Palestinian officials said it also killed civilians.
The attack was the latest in a wave of fighting that has led to a surge in casualties in the central Gaza Strip, as the Israeli army announced it was launching an offensive against what it called a new insurgency by Hamas militants.
The bodies of more than 40 people killed in the attack were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balaf, the medical facility's spokesman, Khalil Dakran, said on Thursday morning. The victims included at least women, children and elderly people, he added, without giving an exact figure.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said he was “unaware of any civilian casualties” in the attack. “We struck exactly where the terrorists were,” he added.
Dr Dakran said Israeli attacks in central Gaza in recent days have killed at least 140 Palestinians and wounded hundreds, putting further strain on already stretched hospital resources.
“Injured patients are lying on the ground in hallways or outside in tents,” he said, “and our ability to treat them at this time is extremely limited.”
The new attacks come as ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled, with officials on both sides expressing deep concern over President Biden's proposal to suspend fighting in exchange for the release of hostages being held in Gaza.
The Biden administration sent senior officials this week to Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks, but Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have signaled they are not ready to end the eight-month war that has killed more than 36,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials.
The overnight Israeli attack hit a facility in Nuseira run by UNRWA, the U.N.'s main agency providing assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which was housing about 6,000 displaced Palestinians at the time of the attack, UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma said.
The Israeli military said its warplanes struck three classrooms in a school building that was housing 20 to 30 Palestinian fighters affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, small militias also backed by Iran. The Israeli military postponed the attack twice to reduce civilian casualties, the military said.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Lerner said the militants were “effectively operating under a UN flag” to avoid Israeli attacks, and that it was the fifth such incident in the past month. Lt. Col. Lerner said the militants had been using the facility to plan attacks on Israeli forces, but did not provide specific evidence.
UNRWA said it could not verify Israeli claims that Hamas was using school sites for military purposes. At least 450 people have been killed while taking refuge in schools and other facilities run by UNRWA since the start of the war, according to the agency.
In mid-April, UNRWA said in a report that most of the “attacks and actions” damaging UNRWA facilities were perpetrated by Israeli forces, but that some were also perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups.
Israel has waged a campaign to isolate the UN agency, alleging that hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of Palestinian militant groups. Israeli officials also say at least 12 UNRWA staff took part in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel or its aftermath. At least 17 countries, including the United States, have responded by suspending funding, and UNRWA has fired several staff members whom Israel has accused of involvement in the attack.
A subsequent UN investigation found that Israel had not provided evidence to support allegations that hundreds of UNRWA staff had ties to extremist groups, and many countries have renewed their support for the agency.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized the Israeli military for not doing enough to protect civilians from airstrikes, and Israeli officials say Hamas and other Palestinian militants are deliberately hiding out among Gaza's civilian population, despite efforts to minimize civilian casualties.
In late May, Israeli forces bombed buildings in an area of southern Gaza where displaced civilians were taking refuge. They said they targeted two Hamas commanders. At least 45 people were killed in the strike and the resulting fire, according to Gaza health officials. Prime Minister Netanyahu called the civilian deaths in the strike a “tragic accident.”
Lauren Leatherby Contributed report.
