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Dozens killed in strike on U.N. school Israel says was used by Hamas

At least 30 were killed, an al-Aqsa Hospital spokesman said, as the IDF struck what it called a Hamas compound inside the UNRWA-run school in central Gaza.

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June 6, 2024 at 3:23 a.m. EDT
Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza search Thursday for relatives killed in the Israeli strike on a UNRWA school in Nuseirat. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
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Israeli fighter jets on Thursday struck a U.N. school in central Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces said housed a “Hamas compound,” killing at least 30 people, according to an official from a nearby hospital.

Children were among the many casualties of the attack, Khalil al-Degran, a spokesman at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir-al-Balah, told The Washington Post. The bodies and those injured in the attack were taken to al-Aqsa, the Associated Press reported.

In a statement, the IDF said Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who took part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel were operating from a compound inside a school belonging to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, in the Nuseirat area. The IDF described the strike as precise and said steps were taken to minimize civilian harm.

UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has alleged that some of the agency’s staff took part in the October attack and that some of its facilities were used for militant activity. An independent review concluded in April that Israel did not provide evidence that significant numbers of UNRWA workers are tied to militant groups, but added that the agency must implement more robust vetting of staff members to ensure neutrality.

Israel has drawn widespread international condemnation over the mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. At least 45 people were killed in a strike on a tent camp in Rafah last month, which the IDF said targeted two Hamas officials.

Here’s what else to know

The United States remains “incredibly concerned” about the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has flared, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Wednesday. Top Israeli officials have said that Israel will soon decide whether to go on the offensive at its northern border. Miller said Israel has told the United States that it prefers a diplomatic resolution and does not want to see the conflict escalate.

Nine out of 10 children in Gaza are experiencing severe food poverty and surviving on two or fewer food groups a day, according to a UNICEF report published Thursday. “Months of hostilities in the Gaza Strip have brought the food and health systems to collapse and have had a catastrophic impact on children and families,” UNICEF said.

Thousands of Israelis, including many nationalists, marched through Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday for the annual Flag March, which draws settlers and other right-wing activists to mark the 1967 Israeli capture of the eastern part of the city. Some chanted anti-Arab slogans including “Death to Arabs,” the Associated Press reported. Israeli police arrested 18 people on suspicion of violent crimes, assault and threats, and disorderly conduct.

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At least ​​36,586 people have been killed and 83,074 injured in Gaza since the war started, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and it says 293 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operations in Gaza.

Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region.

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival. (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948.

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip.