At least 28 Palestinians including children were killed on Thursday in an Israeli strike on a shelter in the northern Gaza Strip, a Gaza health ministry official said, while Israel said the attack targeted tens of militants at the site.
Dozens were also injured in the strike, said the official, Medhat Abbas, adding: “There is no water to extinguish the fire. There is nothing. This is a massacre.”
“Civilians and children are being killed, burned under fire,” Mr said Abbas.
The Israeli military said in a statement the northern strike targeted militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, who operated from within the Abu Hussein School in Jabilia that had been serving as a shelter for displaced people.
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It said dozens of militants were present inside the compound when the strike took place, and provided the names of at least 12 of them, which Reuters could not immediately verify.
This latest Israeli strike on the Palestinian enclave comes as members of Israel’s security cabinet were informed on Thursday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the devastating October 7th, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war, is very likely dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter said.
[ Humanitarian agencies fear Gaza-type scenario in LebanonOpens in new window ]
The Israeli military said it took precautions to mitigate harm to civilians and accused Hamas of using them as human shields – a practice Hamas denies.
Hamas said in a statement that allegations there were fighters at the school were “nothing but lies”, adding this was “a systematic policy of the enemy to justify its crime.”
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office put the number of dead at the school at 28. It said 160 people were wounded in the attack.
The Gaza health ministry said on Thursday that more than 42,438 Palestinians have been killed and 99,246 injured in Israel’s military offensive in the enclave since October 7th, 2023.
Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said at least 11 Palestinians were killed in two separate Israeli strikes in Gaza City, while several others were killed in central and southern Gaza areas.
Footage circulated by Palestinian media of the Abu Hussein School and which Reuters couldn’t immediately verify, showed smoke coming from tents that caught fire, as many displaced people evacuated casualties including children to ambulances.
Residents of Jabilia, in northern Gaza, said Israeli forces blew up clusters of houses firing from the air, from tanks and by placing bombs in buildings then detonating them remotely.
The area has been a focus for the Israeli military for the past two weeks, which says it is trying to stop Hamas fighters from regrouping for more attacks.
Residents said Israeli forces had effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking movement except for those families heeding evacuation orders and leaving the three towns.
“We have written our death notes, and we are not leaving Jabalia,” one resident told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it seized many weapons in the area, some of which were stashed in a school, and that its forces have killed dozens of militants in air strikes and combat at close quarters, as troops try to root out Hamas forces operating in the rubble.
Northern Gaza, which had been home to well over half the territory’s 2.3 million people, was bombed to rubble in the first phase of Israel’s assault on the territory a year ago.
The United States has told Israel that it must take steps to improve the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza in 30 days or face potential restrictions on military aid.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss expanding humanitarian aid to Gaza, officials said, with aid likely to increase soon.
The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid into Gaza and distributing it throughout the war zone, blaming impediments on Israel and lawlessness. It said no food aid entered northern Gaza between October 2nd and October 15th.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military unit that oversees aid and commercial shipments said 50 trucks entered northern Gaza.
The entire enclave remains at risk of famine and is experiencing emergency levels of hunger, with intense Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access, a global monitor said on Thursday.
About 1.84 million people across the Palestinian territory are suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity, including nearly 133,000 people experiencing the most severe, or “catastrophic”, levels, according to an analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Israeli comments about allowing aid into the enclave were misleading.
He said the Israeli military has maintained a comprehensive siege on the far north of Gaza for 170 consecutive days, closing all humanitarian access points.
Israel says that its evacuation orders have been issued to ensure people’s safety and separate them from militants and denies they are part of a systematic clearance plan. – Reuters
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