Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school housing displaced families in Gaza City, health officials said, as Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north.
Palestinian doctors said eight people, including children, were killed at the Musa Bin Nusayr school that shelters displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike was aimed at Hamas terrorists operating in the center of the school. It said Hamas terrorists used the area to plan and carry out attacks on Israeli forces.
In Gaza City, health officials said four Palestinians were killed when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.
Discharge from hospital
In the northern city of Gaza, Beit Lahiya, where the soldiers have been working since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said that the army ordered the workers to leave the hospital and take the patients and injured people to another hospital in the area.
Abu Safiya said the operation was “very close” because the workers did not have ambulances to transport patients.
Israeli forces have been operating in two northern Gaza towns, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, and the nearby Jabalia camp for nearly three months.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate those areas in order to create a safe zone.
Israel denies this and says the operation in the area is aimed at fighting Hamas terrorists and preventing them from regrouping. It said its soldiers have killed hundreds of insurgents and destroyed military infrastructure since the operation began.
Wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed to have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers during simultaneous ambushes.
Mediators have yet to ensure an end to the fighting between Israel and the Islamist group, Hamas.
Ceasefire talks and a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the talks say a deal could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope this round of talks will see an end to the war so that life can resume.
Sources close to the talks told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had managed to resolve the differences between the warring factions, but points remained.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is not clear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say the Israeli campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced more than 2.3 million people. Most of the coastal areas are in ruins.
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