The Israeli military advanced its offensive in central Gaza on Friday and said it had killed dozens of militants, including some who were holed up in a former United Nations school in the area that had been converted into a shelter.
The military said the attack targeted Hamas militants at a school compound in Shadi, a coastal area northwest of central Gaza. The number of casualties is unclear.
In a statement after the attack, the Israeli military said: “Hamas has systematically, deliberately and strategically deployed its infrastructure and carried out its activities in civilian areas in complete violation of international law while placing civilians in Gaza at risk. Lives are put at risk.
Friday’s attack came a day after a similar school building was attacked near Nuserat where displaced civilians had taken refuge. Health authorities in Gaza said women and children were among those killed in that attack.
Israel on Friday vigorously defended Thursday’s attack, saying its forces attacked 20 to 30 militants who it said were using three classrooms at the former school as a base.
The attack on the United Nations building in central Gaza reflects Israel’s strenuous efforts to restore peace in an area where officials have previously said Hamas has been largely suppressed.
Number and identity of the victims Nuserat remained controversial on Thursday. Officials at Gaza’s health ministry and a hospital treating the victims gave different figures. The Israeli military’s assessment offers a third version.
Palestinian officials have given death tolls ranging from 41 to 46. It was children, 9 women.
The Israeli military on Friday released the names of eight more Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters it said were killed in attacks, adding to a list released on Thursday, bringing the total number of alleged militants to 17.
Late Thursday, an Israeli airstrike on Nuserat City Hall killed at least five people, including the mayor, Iyad al-Maghari. Footage shared by Palestinian news outlets showed numerous bodies on the morgue floor, some of which appeared to be children.
The death tolls from all of these attacks could not be independently confirmed.
In Gaza, where 36,000 people have died during the war between Israel and Hamas, health officials said, the United Nations on Friday announced that Israel was being added to a global list of violators of child endangerment. Hamas is also on the list.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the report and said in a statement that his country’s military “is the most ethical in the world and no delusional decision by the United Nations will change that.”
Israeli forces also continued their offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Friday, seizing most of the city’s border with Egypt. The military said it was conducting “targeted intelligence-based operations” but gave no further details.
The fighting comes as U.S. officials continue to press for a ceasefire. The U.S. State Department announced Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar next week to push for a deal.
Since the Hamas-led attack broke out on October 7, Hamas and other Palestinian militants in Gaza have used vast tracts of underground tunnels to conduct guerrilla warfare, ambushing Israeli troops with booby traps. Israeli troops have returned to previously troubled areas such as Brighi in central Gaza to quell what the military says is a renewed Hamas insurgency.
“We see that Hamas still exists, they still have above-ground and underground capabilities,” Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner told reporters on Thursday, describing the use of rocket-propelled grenades by “small groups” of militants. Sustained attacks, small arms and booby traps.
The Israeli military said Hamas militants emerged from a tunnel just a few hundred feet from Israeli territory on Thursday in an attempt to attack the country. According to the military, Israeli drones and tanks opened fire on the militants, killing three people. An Israeli soldier was also killed in the crossfire.
While the number of commercial trucks has increased since Israel launched its military attack on Rafah, the number of trucks carrying urgently needed international aid has dropped, and aid workers say the humanitarian crisis remains dire.
The U.S. military said on Friday it had rebuilt a dock on the Gaza coast aimed at delivering humanitarian supplies to the enclave. The $230 million floating pier, which broke apart in rough seas more than a week ago, has been hailed by U.S. officials as part of a solution to bring more aid to hungry regions.
Farnaz Fasihi and Michael Crowley Contributed reporting.
