According to a local medical facility, an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza killed at least 17 people.
Al-Awda Hospital told AFP and Reuters the strike on Friday hit the Al-Shuhada School in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp.
Hamas’ government media reported the same death toll, and said that the school was used as a refuge for displaced persons.
BBC verified that videos from the scene show children being carried in the arms by men.
Israel said that it had targeted the Hamas command center at the site, which was “used by terrorists to plan terrorist attacks against Israel and its soldiers”.
The government’s media office reported that “thousands” of displaced people were using the school to shelter themselves when the strike struck, “mostly women and children”.
The media office said that nine children were among 17 people killed and more than 52 others injured.
Mahmud Bassal told AFP, the spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense agency, that 17 people had been killed and dozens injured.
In recent weeks, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), claiming to be targeting Hamas personnel, has struck several buildings used as shelters in Gaza.
Israel does not permit independent media access to Gaza. This makes it difficult to verify the facts on the ground. We rely on video footage, testimonies and official statements from Israel and Hamas.
In northern Gaza, IDF has intensified a weeks-long campaign against what they said were Hamas militants who had regrouped in the area.
According to the Hamas health ministry, at least 650 people were killed since the new offensive began in the north.
The Israeli military stated that it was facilitating the evacuation of civilians, while continuing to “operate against terrorists and terrorist facilities”.
Residents who refuse or are unable to comply to Israeli evacuation orders live in increasingly desperate circumstances, with food and essential supplies running low.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that during the first 3 weeks of October, Israeli officials allowed only 4 out of 70 coordinated humanitarian missions to north Gaza.
The US warned Israel that if it did not increase its military aid, it could be cut off.
Cogat, an Israeli military organization responsible for humanitarian matters in Gaza, reported that trucks carrying medical supplies, food, and water had been transported to the north during the past week.
OCHA stated earlier this week that access to humanitarian aid remains restricted.
UN agencies have postponed the final stage of a polio emergency vaccination campaign in this area due to intense Israeli bombardments and mass displacement.
The final phase of the two stage rollout, prompted by Gaza’s first case in 25 years of polio that left a baby paralyzed, was scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Nearly 120,000 children were expected to receive the second dose of oral polio vaccination in northern Gaza.
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