28 people hiding in a school in central Gaza are killed by an Israeli attack
At least 28 people, mostly women and children, were killed Thursday when Israel attacked a school in central Gaza that was housing displaced people. Three hospitals in the north were also told to evacuate, which doctors say put patients’ lives at risk.
The attack happened in the city of Deir Al-Balah, where a million people have gone to hide after fleeing fighting in other areas. The war has been going on for more than a year.
The Israeli military said Thursday that it had launched a “precise strike on terrorists” who were using a school as a command and control center.
“This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law,” the military said.
Such claims are not true for Hamas. They said 54 more people were hurt at the school.
The Israeli military has been on the offensive in the north of the enclave for six days now. They sent troops into Jabalia, the biggest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, as well as the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Palestinian health officials say that at least 130 people have been killed so far in the operation. Israel says that the goal of the operation is to stop Hamas from getting together again.
The military has told people to leave an area where the UN says more than 400,000 people are stuck.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military told patients and doctors at the Indonesian, Al-Awda, and Kamal Adwan hospitals that they had 24 hours to leave or face being stormed, which is what happened earlier in the war at the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel has not said anything about the orders to evacuate medical facilities yet, but it has said that Hamas has command centers inside the hospitals, which Hamas rejects.
The head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, said that eight patients, mostly children, were in danger in the intensive care units in case the army made them leave.
“Those kids were hurt all over their bodies, including the heads and upper bodies.” “All of them are in very bad shape and are hooked up to oxygen systems,” Abu Safiya told the media in a video message.
“The hospital is also running out of fuel, and the occupation is refusing fuel to reach northern Gaza,” he said.
QUESTION FOR HELP
The leader of Abu Safiya asked other countries to put pressure on Israel to let the medical staff in the three hospitals in northern Gaza keep working. He said, “Our message is a message of peace for the sake of those children.”
“We urge the world to allow us to continue (working) and permit all things needed so that we can provide safe medical care in northern Gaza,” he stated.
Medics say that the Israeli bombing near Kamal Adwan Hospital has already done some damage to the building. Officials said they know of many people who have died because of Israeli fire who are lying on the roads outside the hospital.
People in Jabalia and nearby areas were told by the Israeli military to go to humanitarian-designated zones in southern Gaza. But Palestinian and U.N. officials say there are no safe places to go in the area with so many people.
He told the Security Council, “Hundreds of thousands of people are again being forced to move to the south, where living conditions are intolerable.” Philippe Lazzarini is the head of the UN organization that helps Palestinian refugees.”Once more, the people of Gaza are on the verge of a man-made famine,” he said.
Locals said that Israeli soldiers had surrounded Jabalia from all sides and told the people there to leave through a single passageway. They said troops were questioning and arresting people who were leaving, and that people who tried to leave through a different way were being shot at.
Anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs were used by the armed parts of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to fight Israeli troops.
In the north, the Israeli military said it killed dozens of terrorists, found weapons, and took down military bases.
Based on Israeli counts, Hamas militants struck communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. This is when Israel started its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Since then, it has turned its attention to its northern border and launched an attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is an ally of Hamas. This is making the conflict worse and could lead to a wider war in the Middle East.
They say that more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli assault. Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes, and a lot of the area has been left to waste.
