Israeli forces kill 15 Palestinians in attack targeting school sheltering families
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At least 15 Palestinians, including a journalist, were killed Wednesday after Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza's Abu Hameesa School sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza, according to local health officials, as Israel ramped up its destruction of buildings in southern Rafah.
Two strikes reportedly targeted the Karama School in Gaza City's Tuffah district.
Among the dead was journalist Nour Abdu, bringing the total number of Palestinian journalists killed since the conflict began to 213, according to the Gaza media office.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
This attack came just a day after two Israeli strikes on another school in central Gaza killed at least 29 people, including several women and children.
The Israeli army said it had targeted a 'command center' allegedly used by militants, claiming it housed 'terrorists.'
Meanwhile, fighting intensified in southern Gaza.
In Khan Younis, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades said its fighters detonated a minefield targeting an Israeli armoured unit, followed by a barrage of mortar shells.
In Rafah, witnesses and Hamas sources reported that Israeli troops continued demolishing homes as they expand their control over the city near the Egyptian border.
The Israeli military has seized about one-third of Gaza, displacing thousands while constructing surveillance towers and clearing ground it now refers to as "security zones."
Aid delivery remains suspended after Israel resumed its offensive in March, following the breakdown of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
The United Nations has warned that Gaza's 2.3 million residents face imminent famine under the ongoing blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday of an 'intensive' phase of the military campaign, following security cabinet approval for operations that could include taking full control of Gaza and directly managing humanitarian aid.
Since Israel's initial attack in Gaza during October 2023 , over 52,000 Palestinians — the majority of them civilians — have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
The situation remains fluid, with Rafah potentially being eyed by Israel as a designated humanitarian zone — even as homes are razed and casualties mount.
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