GAZA: More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the official Palestinian news agency said, and Gaza’s civil defense agency said.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the civil defense agency, announced on Telegram, “Dozens injured after the Israeli bombing of the Al-Taba’een school in the Al-Sahaba area in Gaza City.” Basal described the incident as a horrific massacre, noting that some bodies had caught fire.
He added that emergency crews are working to extinguish the flames and recover the bodies of the victims while also attempting to rescue the injured.
According to a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, the Israeli strikes targeted displaced people during Fajr (dawn) prayers, leading to a rapid increase in the number of casualties.
Earlier on Thursday, the civil defense agency reported that Israeli strikes had targeted two schools in Gaza City, killing over 18 people. The Gaza health ministry stated that Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of approximately 39,699 people.
This escalation comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call to recognize that the escalating tensions in the Middle East serve no one’s interest and emphasized the need for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to the U.S. State Department.
Reuters reported an increased risk of the conflict spreading regionally, following the recent killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, and Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut. These incidents have prompted threats of retaliation against Israel.
