Israeli forces attacked a school near the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, killing at least 30 Palestinians and wounding more than 100, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Telegram that the Hamas command and control center is located at the Khadija school.
The IDF added that Hamas uses the compound as a hideout to direct and plan attacks and to store weapons.
Gaza’s health ministry said the video showed the victims were civilians, most of them children. The BBC confirmed a video showing children among the injured.
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGaza’s civil defense said schools were housing displaced people. Hamas condemned the attack in a statement on Telegram, saying “displaced, sick and wounded, mostly women and children” were killed.
Verified video from the scene showed chaos, with people running around a rubble-covered compound. Men held two blood-stained children in their arms, a woman hugged another child, and a group carried an injured man on a stretcher. A body lay on the ground, covered with a blanket.
The IDF said it had taken steps to reduce the risk to civilians before the attack “including the use of appropriate munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence”.
Gaza’s health ministry said 53 people had been killed and 189 injured in IDF bombings in Deir al-Balah and the southern city of Khan Younis since Saturday morning.
The attack comes as Israel continues a months-long military operation in Gaza that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The attack in Deir al-Balah came as the IDF ordered civilians in the southern area of Khan Yunis on Saturday morning to evacuate to an “adjusted humanitarian zone” in the coastal district of Mawasi, according to reports.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was about to “force operations” after reports of a “large number” of rockets fired into Israel from southern Khan Younis and “accurate intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded” infrastructure in humanitarian areas. The Israeli military warned civilians that “it has become dangerous to remain in the area”.
Maps released by the Israel Defense Forces show that the humanitarian zone in Mawasi has shrunk further. On Monday, the military ordered the evacuation of part of the humanitarian zone, shrinking the area before taking action against Palestinian fighters who had apparently regrouped there.
After the evacuation order was issued, Gaza’s Ministry of Health explain Israeli attacks around Khan Yunis killed at least 70 people.
