Israel strikes school compound in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military struck a school compound in Gaza City on Saturday, asserting that it was being used by Hamas as a military command center, a statement that Hamas denied. The Palestinian emergency agency reported that multiple people had been killed.

The agency, the Palestinian Civil Defense, did not say how many people had died. The news outlet Al Jazeera and Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, both reported that at least 15 people had been killed in the attack.

At least 26 people were brought to Al-Ahli Hospital, according to Dr Fadel Naim, head of orthopedic surgery at the hospital.

Videos posted on social media Saturday showed a building engulfed in flames after a strike, with smoke rising. People could be seen running for cover.

The Israeli military, in a statement, called the compound, known as the Hamama School, “a hiding place for Hamas terrorists” and said attacks were “planned and carried out from there.” It also said weapons were manufactured and stored in the compound.

Condemning the attack, Hamas said in a statement that Israel “deliberately targeted civilians including children, women and elderly.” It said Israel had told “blatant lies” in asserting that the school compound was used for military purposes.

Most of the schools in the Gaza Strip have been converted into shelters for thousands of displaced people since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct 7, when Hamas led an attack into Israel. The Israeli military has repeatedly bombed school buildings in Gaza or struck in their immediate vicinity, often saying the buildings were being used by Hamas fighters, claims that the group has denied. Israeli authorities say they take steps to limit the risk to civilians.

According to a recent UN assessment, nearly 85 per cent of Gaza’s schools have been destroyed or damaged during the war, and more than half of the school buildings used as shelters have been directly hit.

In the occupied West Bank, where tensions and violence have increased since the war began, the Israeli military hit a town with two airstrikes in what it called a counterterrorism operation. Hamas said three members of its military wing and six other fighters were killed in the strikes around the town of Tulkarem.