At least 30 individuals lost their lives and over 100 were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in Deir-al Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The Israeli military stated that the strike aimed to dismantle a Hamas command and control center located within the school compound.
A spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, reported that most victims arriving after the attack were women and children.
The Palestinian Civil Defense noted that the school was housing over 4,000 displaced people.
Shortly before the strike, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in Khan Younis, where a recent offensive had already resulted in dozens of Palestinian deaths.
Residents were instructed to evacuate southern neighborhoods due to an impending “forceful operation” by the Israel Defense Forces.
In another incident, bodies, including those of children, were brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following an Israeli attack on the Al-Qashtat family house in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on July 27, 2024.
Palestinians fled a school in Deir el-Balah after it was struck, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Fighting in Gaza has persisted for months, with Israel struggling to eliminate Hamas. Israel reported that approximately 100 militants had been killed in recent engagements.
The United Nations estimated that about 150,000 people fled Khan Younis on Monday alone, exacerbating shortages of food, water, and shelter.
Palestinian children sifted through the rubble of their home following an operation by Israeli Special Forces in the Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip, on June 9.
Signaling another imminent campaign, the IDF announced on Telegram their plan to “forcefully operate against the terrorist organizations” and urged remaining residents in southern Khan Yunis to evacuate to the designated humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.
The IDF stated this was in response to “significant terrorist activity and rocket fire” from southern Khan Younis and that the previously defined humanitarian area would be adjusted.
Al-Mawasi has been repeatedly attacked, including a strike on July 14 that reportedly killed 90 people and injured 300.
An eyewitness in Khan Younis told CNN she was “woken up by the screams” of fleeing people after the evacuation order, describing explosions and flares in the sky.
Israel initiated its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 following a Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and led to over 250 abductions, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, Israeli military actions have resulted in the deaths of 39,090 Palestinians and injured another 90,147, as per Gaza’s Ministry of Health. By early July, nearly 2 million people had been displaced in Gaza, almost its entire population, according to the UN.
Aid agencies have warned that new evacuation orders are complicating the delivery of emergency supplies.
“People in Gaza are exhausted, living in inhumane conditions, with no safety at all,” the UN Relief and Works Agency posted on X.
On Thursday, the IDF reported recovering the bodies of five Israeli hostages from a tunnel in Khan Younis, previously designated as a “humanitarian area.”
Despite the ongoing conflict, US and Israeli officials were hopeful about a potential ceasefire and hostage agreement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted on Friday that parties were “inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated plans to send a negotiation team to Rome next week.
During a Washington visit, Netanyahu met with Vice President Kamala Harris, who urged him to finalize an agreement.
“As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” Harris said. “So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you.”
