ReutersAn Israeli air strike on a faculty in Gaza Metropolis has killed at the very least 22 Palestinians, largely girls and youngsters, in accordance with Gaza’s Hamas-run well being ministry.
The college, closed through the battle, was housing displaced individuals, the well being ministry stated.
The Israel Protection Forces (IDF) stated it focused a Hamas command centre which Israel stated the militant group was utilizing to “plan and perform terrorist assaults”.
Hamas has denied utilizing colleges and different civilian websites for navy functions.
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The Hamas-run authorities media workplace stated the individuals killed in Saturday’s strike within the al-Zaytoun space included a number of youngsters and 6 girls.
Gaza’s civil defence company reported the identical loss of life toll and added that one of many girls was pregnant.
A number of graphic movies of the aftermath of the strike examined by BBC Confirm seem to corroborate this.
Different footage exhibits youngsters among the many victims. Some are seen with extreme accidents, together with elements of their legs lacking. Others are seen mendacity immobile whereas adults attempt to ship CPR.
BBC Confirm confirmed the placement by evaluating particulars seen within the background to satellite tv for pc and ground-level photographs of the focused faculty.
The IDF stated it took steps to mitigate the danger of harming civilians, and accused Hamas of exploiting civilian infrastructure.
Hamas “systematically violates worldwide regulation by working from inside civilian infrastructure within the Gaza Strip and exploiting the Gazan civilian inhabitants for its terrorist actions”, the IDF stated.
ReutersAdditionally on Saturday, the well being ministry stated that 4 of its staff had been killed and 6 injured in an Israeli “concentrating on” of a well being ministry warehouse within the Musabah space of southern Gaza. The ministry didn’t specify whether or not the incident was an air strike.
The BBC has approached the IDF for touch upon the report of well being staff killed.
Different colleges have been hit, some a number of occasions, by Israeli air strikes because the newest battle with Hamas started on 7 October.
Earlier this month, the UN company for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) stated six of its staff had been killed in an Israeli air strike on al-Jaouni faculty in Nuseirat refugee camp, which is getting used as a shelter by hundreds of displaced Palestinians.
Unrwa stated it was the fifth time the varsity had been hit since 7 October.
Israel’s navy stated it carried out a “exact strike on terrorists” planning assaults from the varsity. The navy alleged that 9 of these killed had been members of Hamas’s armed wing and that three of them had been Unrwa employees.
Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on 7 October final 12 months, killing about 1,200 individuals and taking 251 others as hostages.
Israel responded with a navy marketing campaign in Gaza that has killed greater than 41,000 individuals, in accordance with the well being ministry.
