Israeli strike on Gaza school kills more than 30

Telegraph

26-05-2025

More than 30 people are believed to have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the site of a school being used as a shelter in northern Gaza.
Footage, apparently from the aftermath of the blasts, showed a little girl trying to find her way out of the destroyed building in Gaza City as it became engulfed in flames.
Other images showed badly burned corpses and a charred toddler, who appeared to be dead, being moved from the scene by rescue workers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school was being used by terrorists as a command and control centre, and that steps had been taken to mitigate civilian casualties.
The reported deaths were among at least 46 from strikes at multiple locations overnight on Sunday, including one that killed 15 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to the Shifa Hospital, which said it received the bodies.
It comes as Israel expands its military offensive in Gaza with the aim of seizing and holding swathes of territory in an attempt to finally defeat Hamas. Five divisions are now conducting operations in the Strip and all civilians are expected to be ordered to the south to designated humanitarian zones.
There is mounting disquiet in the international community regarding the civilian cost, with Donald Trump, regarded as Benjamin Netanyahu's staunchest ally, voicing concern.
Sources have reported that the US, through its Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, is exerting heavy pressure on Israel to end the war.
The raid on the school compound in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City also wounded 55 people, according to Fahmy Awad, from the health ministry's emergency service. He said a father and his five children were among the dead.
The health ministry is under control of Hamas, which has been accused of inflating mortality figures and failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants.
It has been suggested that one of the dead was Muhammad Yusuf al-Kaseeh, also known as Abu Yusuf, the head of investigations unit at the Beit Lahia police station, alongside his five children.
The IDF did not comment.
Israel cut off aid into the Strip at the beginning of March and began to let in some trucks last week, amid escalating fears of famine.
However, the government's attempt to establish a new model of aid distribution got off to a shaky start as the head of the Israeli government's new aid partner resigned on humanitarian grounds late on Sunday.
Jake Wood, formerly a US Marine, stepped down as the chief executive of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying: 'It is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.'
The foundation has been accused of being made up largely of former mercenaries with no experience of aid distribution.
It was selected by Mr Netanyahu's office, over the heads of IDF commanders, with the stated aim of establishing a new model of aid-giving that would prevent supplies falling into the hands of Hamas.
Critics have accused Israel of using food supplies as a ' weapon of war '. The UN and other NGOs have so far said that they would not work with the new system, which was due to begin on Monday.
However, Israeli military chiefs insist that Hamas was previously able to regenerate by seizing aid supplies and selling them back to the population.
It came as three projectiles were fired from southern Gaza towards Israeli communities on Monday morning. Two fell within the Strip, while the third was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force.
A joint statement from the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency said: 'Overnight [Sunday], the IDF and ISA struck key terrorists who were operating within a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control centre embedded in an area that previously served as the 'Faami Aljerjawi' School in the Gaza City area.
'The command and control centre was used by the terrorists to plan and gather intelligence in order to execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.
'The terrorist organisations systematically violate international law, exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activity.'