UPDATE – 25 people killed in Israeli airstrike on school sheltering displaced Gazans near Khan Younis

REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, ADDS STATEMENT FROM GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY

By Nour Abuaisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - At least 25 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike Tuesday on a school housing displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip, according to medics.

The Israeli army committed the massacre at Al-Awda School in the town of Abasan, east of Khan Younis, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement.

The number of injuries has exceeded 53, with some in serious and critical condition, the statement added.

Earlier, the ministry initially said the Israeli army “committed a heinous massacre against displaced citizens by targeting the gate of a school sheltering displaced people in Abasan, resulting in the death of 19 Palestinians.”

The Palestine Red Crescent Society meanwhile reported casualties from an Israeli bombardment of the Abu Hameed roundabout in central Khan Younis.

Last week, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for Palestinian residents of several areas in eastern Khan Younis.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, the Israeli army has hit several centers for displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, killing dozens.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 88,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio