Israel strike on Gaza school kills 28, injures 54, including children

An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in Gaza killed 28 people, including women and children, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Dozens were injured in the strike on Rufaida School in western Deir Al-Balah, where more than one million displaced people are sheltering after fleeing a year of war.

The Israeli military said it was targeting militants, claiming it took “numerous steps” to mitigate harm to civilians.

It comes as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 42,000, since Israel’s bombardment and invasion began on 7 October 2023, following the Hamas attacks.

Later on Thursday, a UN inquiry said Israel’s demolition of the Gaza health system amounted to the crime against humanity of “extermination”.

In a statement released before the full report,  ex-UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay accused Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”.

She added: “Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system.”

Israeli forces had deliberately killed and tortured medical personnel, the inquiry added, as well as targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave.

The US today also called on Israel to urgently address the “catastrophic conditions” in the Gaza Strip and to stop limiting the delivery of aid – which they said was “intensifying suffering”.

The UN also said on Thursday that Israel had “deliberately” targeted UN peacekeeper positions in southern Lebanon, where Israel’s invasion and bombardment continued.

Two peacekeepers were injured after an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower in UNIFIL’s main base in Naqoura, the UN said.

The injuries were “fortunately” not serious, it added, but the pair are in hospital.

Israel fired on three UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon yesterday. In a statement, UNIFIL warned Israel that “any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law”.

“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers have clashed with Hezbollah elements on the ground in Lebanon. UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions have been repeatedly hit,” UNIFIL said.

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“Yesterday, IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled the [UNIFIL] position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras. They also deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A in Ras Naqoura, where regular Tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station,” it added.

On Thursday morning, Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati said the US and France were trying to revive a ceasefire deal for the Middle East.

According to Reuters, Mikati said: “There are contacts taking place between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire declaration for a specific period in order to resume the search for political solutions.”

Hezbollah, the militant group fighting Israel in southern Lebanon, yesterday supported calls for a ceasefire.

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Deputy secretary General Naim Qassem said: “We support the political efforts led by (parliament speaker Nabih) Berri under the banner of achieving a ceasefire.

“Once the ceasefire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively.”

But Israel has not signalled an intention to sign a ceasefire in the immediate future, with Netanyahu warning the people of Lebanon to throw out Hezbollah – if they want to avoid the “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza”.

Five health workers were killed in the southern Lebanese town of Derdghaiya, when a makeshift emergency response centre in a church hall was hit by an Israeli strike.