Israel’s military carried out an airstrike Thursday on a U.N. school in central Gaza where Palestinian health officials said at least 27 people were killed.
The Israel Defense Forces said Hamas fighters who participated in the October 7 attack against Israel were using the school as shelter and “directed terror” from the site.
The Hamas media office rejected Israel’s statement and said Israeli forces had carried out a “brutal crime” against displaced people.
The strike happened at a school run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Nuseirat.
The Israeli military Wednesday announced the start of “targeted operational activity” near the same area, in parts of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp.
The military said it was attacking “terror targets, including military compounds, weapons storage facilities and underground infrastructure.”
Residents in the area reported heavy bombardment.
At least 70 people died and 300 were wounded since Tuesday, following “heavy Israeli strikes” in central Gaza, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Eleven people were injured Wednesday after a town in northern Israel was struck by fire from Lebanon, said Israel’s Magen David Adom paramedic service.
The Lebanese militia group Hezbollah said it targeted a group of military officials with a drone in response to an attack from Israel.
“A short while ago, a number of launches that were identified from Lebanon fell in the area of Hurfeish in northern Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said. “No sirens were sounded; the incident is under review.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited part of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have been trading fire throughout the war in Gaza and raising concerns of an expanded regional conflict.
“Whoever thinks that they can harm us and we will sit idly by is making a big mistake. We are prepared for a very strong action in the north. In one way or another, we will restore security to the north,” Netanyahu said.
The back-and-forth fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8. Since then, about 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly fighters, and about 25 in Israel.
Hamas launched the October 7 terror attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and taking roughly 250 hostages. About 120 of the hostages remain in Gaza, although the Israeli military says 37 of them are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive have killed at least 36,500 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The United Nations, in a report released on Wednesday, warned that at least 1 million Palestinians will reach the highest level of starvation by mid-July. The heavy restrictions on the flow of food, water, fuel and medical aid are worsening the situation in Gaza, particularly in northern Gaza, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization said in their joint report.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
