UPDATE – At least 25 killed in Israeli strike on school sheltering displaced Gazans

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – At least 25 civilians were killed and scores injured in Israeli shelling of a school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, a medical source said.

The attack targeted the Abu Hussein School in the Jabalia refugee camp as displaced people gathered to take their lunch, Gaza’s government media office said.

The death toll from the attack is expected to rise, the medical source said.

The Israeli army admitted that it hit the school, alleging that Hamas and Islamic Jihad members were operating inside the building.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Under the rules of war, targeting such civilian facilities can constitute a war crime.

Separately, three people were killed and several others injured in Israeli shelling targeting a group of civilians east of Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said.

The Israeli army on Oct. 6 began its third offensive in northern Gaza since the start of its genocidal war on Gaza last year, alleging that the onslaught aims to “prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area."

Palestinians, however, argue that Israel this time aims to occupy the northern Gaza Strip and displace its residents.

More than 300 people have been reported killed in the latest offensive amid a tight siege imposed by the Israeli army on the area, according to local authorities.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,400 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 99,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala