Israeli strikes killed at least 46 people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, including 31 in a school converted into a shelter that was hit as people slept, setting their belongings on fire, local health officials said.
The Israeli military said it was targeting militants operating from the school, the Associated Press reports.
Israel renewed its offensive in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas, the Palestinian group that the United States and the European Union have declared a terrorist organization.
The Israelis have vowed to take control of Gaza and continue fighting until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed, and until it returns the remaining 58 hostages – a third of whom are believed to be alive – who were taken during the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.
Israel began allowing a small amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza last week, after blocking the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods for 2 and a half months.
Humanitarian groups have warned that Gaza residents could starve to death and say that aid that has arrived in recent days is nowhere near enough to meet the huge needs.
A new aid system, supported by Israel and the United States but rejected by United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations, is expected to begin operations on Monday, despite the resignation of the American who led the initiative, who said it would not be able to operate independently.
Israel says it plans to take full control of Gaza and facilitate what it calls the voluntary exodus of its more than 2 million residents, a plan rejected by the Palestinians and most of the international community.
Israel's military campaign has devastated large parts of Gaza and internally displaced about 90 percent of its population. Most of them have been displaced multiple times.
Rescuers pull out the charred victims
The attack on the school in the Darax neighborhood of Gaza City also wounded more than 55 people, said Fahmy Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency services.
He announced that a father and his five children were among the dead.
Fahmy said the school was hit three times while people were sleeping. Footage circulating online showed rescuers struggling to put out the fires and pull out charred victims.
The Israeli military said its strikes targeted a militant command and control center inside the school, which Hamas and Islamic Jihad were using to gather information for attacks.
Israel blames Hamas for the deaths of civilians because it operates in residential areas.
Another attack, on a house, killed 15 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which received the bodies.
On the other hand, Palestinian militants fired three rockets from Gaza, two of which failed to cross the territory, while the third was intercepted, the Israeli military said.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Hamas members are still holding dozens of hostages, while many others have been released under ceasefire and other agreements.
Israel's retaliatory offensive, which has devastated large parts of Gaza, has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its calculations. (A2 Televizion)
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