By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school where displaced families were sheltering in Gaza, medics said, as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north.
Palestinian medics said eight people, including children, were killed at the Musa bin Nusseir school, which sheltered displaced families in Gaza.
The Israeli military said the attack targeted Hamas fighters operating from a command center inside the school. He said Hamas militants used the site to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces.
Also in Gaza, medics said four Palestinians were killed when an airstrike hit a vehicle.
At least five more Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis, south of the enclave.
In the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia, where the army has been operating since October, Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Advani Hospital, said the army ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and transferred patients and injured to another hospital.
Abu Safia said the mission was “impossible” because staff did not have ambulances to transport patients.
The Israeli army has been operating for nearly three months in two towns north of Gaza, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp.
Palestinians accuse Israel of acts of “ethnic cleansing” to settle these areas to create a buffer zone.
Israel denies this, saying the campaign in the area was aimed at fighting Hamas fighters and preventing them from regrouping. According to him, his forces have killed hundreds of militants and destroyed military infrastructure since the start of this operation.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had managed to resolve some of the differences between the warring parties, but the standoff remained.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israel. Israel says up to 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Gaza authorities say the Israeli campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the 2.3 million population. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal Al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Francis (BCBA 🙂 Carey)