Importance Score: 85 / 100 🟢
Deadly Airstrike Hits Gaza School Housing Displaced Palestinians
An Israeli airstrike has reportedly killed at least 27 Palestinians at a school in northern Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The school was being used as a shelter for families displaced by the ongoing conflict. Local hospital sources indicated that dozens more individuals sustained injuries when the Dar al-Arqam school in the Tuffah district of Gaza City was struck.
Israeli Military Claims Strike Targeted Hamas Operatives
The Israeli military stated that its forces targeted “prominent terrorists” allegedly located within a “Hamas command and control center” in Gaza City. The military’s statement did not mention that the targeted location was a school. Earlier, the health ministry reported that 97 additional people had been killed in Israeli attacks over the preceding 24 hours, coinciding with Israel‘s announcement of an expanded ground offensive to control more of the Palestinian territory.
Reports of Civilian Casualties including Women and Children
Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza‘s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, reported that women and children were among the fatalities of the strike on Dar al-Arqam school. He also stated that a heavily pregnant woman expecting twins, along with her husband, sister, and three children, were missing. Video footage from al-Ahli hospital nearby showed children with severe injuries being transported for urgent medical attention.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement asserting that the site in Gaza City targeted in the airstrike had been used by Hamas militants to orchestrate attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. The IDF added that measures were taken to minimize harm to non-combatants during the operation.
Further Strikes in Gaza City Claim More Lives
Overnight, separate strikes on several residences in Gaza City’s Shejaiya district resulted in at least 12 deaths, according to the Civil Defence. The agency released video footage purportedly showing rescue workers extracting the bodies of two young children from the debris of a collapsed building. A witness, who requested anonymity, recounted to BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline program being “violently awakened by a powerful explosion” that originated at his neighbors’ residence, the Ayyad family.
While the IDF did not immediately comment on the Shejaiya district strikes, it had instructed residents of Shejaiya and four adjacent areas to evacuate to western Gaza City earlier on Thursday. The IDF statement conveyed a warning about its forces “operating with considerable force to dismantle terrorist infrastructure.”
Evacuation Orders and Escalating Ground Operations
This week, the IDF had previously issued similar evacuation orders for sections of northern Gaza, as well as the entire southern city of Rafah and parts of Khan Younis. The United Nations estimates these orders prompted approximately 100,000 Palestinians to flee their homes.
Israel resumed its aerial assaults and ground operations in Gaza on March 18, after the initial phase of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas concluded in January and subsequent negotiations for a second phase faltered.
Brig-Gen Effie Defrin, the IDF’s chief spokesperson, stated at a Thursday briefing that their operation had “progressed to a new stage” recently. “We have broadened operations in southern Gaza Strip aiming to encircle and divide the Rafah area,” he explained. “In northern Gaza, our forces are engaged in operations against terrorist targets, clearing the area, and dismantling terrorist infrastructure.” He further added that Israeli forces had struck over 600 “terrorist targets” and “eliminated more than 250 terrorists” in Gaza over the preceding two weeks.
Prior to the Tuffah school strike, Gaza‘s health ministry had reported at least 1,163 fatalities within the same two-week period. A UN agency indicates that this figure includes over 300 children.
Stalled Ceasefire Negotiations and Hostage Release
On Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces were establishing an additional military corridor intended to sever Rafah from Khan Younis. He argued that intensified military pressure would compel Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages in their custody, with up to 24 believed to be still alive.
However, Hamas conveyed that it would not engage with Israel‘s latest ceasefire proposal, reportedly coordinated with the US, a key mediator in the ongoing negotiations. The Palestinian group stated its acceptance only of the ceasefire framework proposed by Qatar and Egypt, the other mediating nations, advocating for a 50-day truce.
Details of this regional proposal remain undisclosed, but it reportedly entails the release of five hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from recently occupied areas in Gaza, and increased humanitarian aid. The plan also includes provisions for subsequent negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. Israel, conversely, is demanding a larger number of hostage releases at the outset of any new truce agreement.
Investigation into Emergency Worker Deaths
In a separate development on Thursday, the IDF announced an internal investigation by the general staff’s fact-finding mechanism into the deaths of 15 Palestinian emergency workers near Rafah on March 23, as well as their burial in what a UN official described as a “mass grave.”
“We aim to establish all facts accurately and ensure accountability if necessary,” an IDF spokesperson stated.
A Palestinian paramedic who survived the incident, in an interview with the BBC, disputed the Israeli account regarding the circumstances under which five ambulances, a fire engine, and a UN vehicle were fired upon while responding to emergency calls. The military asserted that the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” towards its troops without activated headlights or emergency signals. It further claimed that a Hamas operative and “eight other terrorists” were among those killed in the incident, but identified only one individual.
Munther Abed, the surviving paramedic, maintained that “all lights were activated” on the vehicles until they came under direct fire. He also refuted the military’s suggestion that Hamas might have used the ambulances for cover, asserting that all emergency personnel were civilians.
The Israeli military initiated its campaign to dismantle Hamas following an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities in Israel and the abduction of 251 hostages.
According to Gaza‘s health ministry, the conflict has resulted in over 50,520 deaths in Gaza since then.