44 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

At least 44 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded to varying degrees in Israeli airstrikes in the southern, central, and northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, reported Xinhua, quoting Palestinian sources.

An Israeli plane bombed the Al-Atar area in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, south of the strip, where tents housing displaced families, sources told Xinhua.

Several bodies, including women, lay on the ground covered in blood, with civilian vehicles transporting the injured to hospital, eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli army committed a "terrible massacre" against the displaced in Al-Mawasi, killing 17 Palestinians and wounding more than 26 others, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft targeted with at least one rocket at United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Israeli aircraft bombed the Al-Razi school housing displaced families south of the Al-Nuseirat camp, security sources told Xinhua.

The airstrike, not preceded by any warning, destroyed parts of the school, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

Medical sources told Xinhua that the Israeli shelling killed 23 people and injured 73 others with varying degrees of injuries who were transported to hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that based on precise intelligence, the Israeli Air Force struck "terrorists" who were operating in a UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat.

"Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of aerial surveillance, precise munitions, and additional intelligence," it said.

"Furthermore, the IDF struck a company commander in the Islamic Jihad's Naval Unit in western Khan Younis," it added.

On Tuesday, the UNRWA said on social media platform X that five UNRWA schools have been hit in the last 10 days.

"UN facilities must be protected at all times. They must never be used for military or fighting purposes," the refugee agency said.

"No one is safe in Gaza, wherever they are. The people of Gaza are children, women, and men who have the right to live," it added.

Also on Tuesday, four Palestinians were killed and five others injured in an Israeli attack targeting a gathering at the Sheikh Zayed roundabout on the outskirts of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian medical sources.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on this incident.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 49 people and wounded 69 others, bringing the total death toll to 38,713 and injuries to 89,166 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday before the reporting of the three Israeli attacks.

More than nine months into the ground operation in Gaza, half of the leadership of Hamas's military wing has been eliminated, and about 14,000 "terrorists" were eliminated or apprehended, according to the IDF on Tuesday.

So far, the IDF has struck about 37,000 targets from the air within the Gaza Strip and more than 25,000 "terrorist" infrastructure and launch sites, it added.