Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school housing displaced families in Gaza City, medics said, as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north.
Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were killed at the Musa Bin Nusayr school, which housed displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the attack targeted Hamas militants operating from a command center at the school. It said Hamas militants were using the site to plan and carry out attacks on Israeli forces.
According to medics, four Palestinians were also killed in Gaza City when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis, south of the enclave.
Evacuation of the hospital
In the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, where the army has been operating since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army had ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and to transfer patients and injured people to another hospital in the area bring to.
Abu Safiya said the mission was “almost impossible” because staff had no ambulances to transport patients.
The Israeli army has been operating for almost three months in the two northern Gaza cities of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as in the nearby Jabalia camp.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate these areas and create a buffer zone.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the region was aimed at fighting Hamas militants and preventing them from regrouping. It said its forces had killed hundreds of militants and destroyed military infrastructure since the operation began.
Armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period.
Mediators have yet to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
Talks to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the negotiations say an agreement could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip hope this round of talks will lead to an end to the war so that life can resume.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had resolved some differences between the warring factions but that sticking points remained.
Israel began its attack on Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage, according to Israel. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are still alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of its 2.3 million residents. Much of the coastal enclave lies in ruins.
