Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza leaves at least 30 dead
At least 30 people have been killed and over 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Deir-al Balah, central Gaza, where thousands were sheltering. The Israeli military said it had launched the strike in order to destroy a Hamas command and control center inside the compound, CNN reports.
Among the dead are 15 children and 8 women, according to the press office of the government led by Hamas. The Health Ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, claims that more than 100 people were injured in the attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it targeted a "Hamas command and control center in the compound of the Khadija school in central Gaza." The source said the school was being used to launch attacks against troops and as a weapons depot and had warned civilians before the attack.
At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, ambulances brought wounded Palestinians to the medical facility. Some of the wounded also arrived on foot, with blood-stained clothes. Reuters footage showed people returning to the site of the bombing to check on their belongings and fires burning in the area. Walls were blown up and debris scattered in the school yard, where some cars were damaged.
In previous strikes that have hit civilian infrastructure, the Israeli military has blamed the Islamist militant group Hamas for putting civilians at risk, accusing it of operating in densely populated neighborhoods with schools and hospitals as cover. Hamas denies this claim.
Earlier on Saturday, official Palestinian media said at least 14 people were killed in dawn Israeli strikes in the southern town of Khan Younis.
The United Nations and humanitarian officials accuse Israel of using disproportionate force in the war and failing to ensure civilians have safe places to go, which Israel denies.
