At least 54 Palestinians have been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes overnight, including a strike on a school sheltering displaced families in central Gaza. In the Gaza conflict escalation, a school, Fahmi Al-Jargawi School housing hundreds of displaced people from the town of Beit Lahia, and is currently under intense Israeli military assault. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence, 20 bodies, including those of children, were recovered from the school, with many severely burned after fires engulfed two classrooms turned into living quarters.
The Israeli military (IDF) claimed it targeted “a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control centre” in the school, stating that the area was being used “by the terrorists to plan… attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops”. The IDF also accused Hamas of using “the Gazan population as human shields”. Rami Rafiq, a resident living across from the school, described the horrific scene: “Flames were everywhere. I saw charred bodies lying on the ground… My son fainted when he saw the horrific scene”.
In a separate attack, a strike on a house in Jabalia in northern Gaza killed 19 people, according to the director of al-Ahli hospital, Dr. Fadel el-Naim. The Israeli military has not commented on what was being targeted in this strike.
These attacks are part of a broader Israeli offensive that has escalated in the northern part of the enclave over the past week. The IDF said it hit 200 targets across Gaza in 48 hours as it continued its operations against what it called “terrorist organisations”.
Civilian Casualties Mount
The conflict has resulted in a significant humanitarian crisis, with at least 53,939 people, including at least 16,500 children, killed in Gaza since the Israeli military campaign began in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. In one devastating incident, an Israeli strike on the home of a Palestinian doctor in Gaza killed nine of her 10 children. The Israeli military has said the incident is under review.
The Red Cross has also reported the deaths of two of its staff members in a strike on their home in Khan Younis, stating that it “points to the intolerable civilian death toll in Gaza” and reiterating its call for a ceasefire.
Humanitarian Response
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has announced plans to begin direct aid delivery in Gaza, with “over one million Palestinians” expected to be reached by the end of the week. However, the UN says much more aid is needed, with between 500 to 600 trucks a day required to meet the needs of the affected population. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has called for an arms embargo on Israel if it does not stop its attacks.