15 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza schools

At least 15 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli attacks that targeted two schools in Gaza City, Palestinian security and medical sources said Thursday, reported Xinhua.

Palestinian medical sources in Gaza City told Xinhua that at least 15 Palestinians were killed and tens of others were wounded by the Israeli airstrike and were transferred to local hospitals.

The Palestinian Civil Defense said in a press statement that Israeli warplanes attacked the Al-Zahraa secondary school and its nearby school of Abdel Fatah Hamouda with missiles, killing and wounding tens of displaced people living inside them.

There are others still trapped under the rubble who have not yet been rescued.

Locals inside the Al-Zahraa school told Xinhua they were shocked when the Israeli army attacked the schools, adding that all the residents of the schools were innocent people.

Also on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the Israeli Air Force conducted an intelligence-based strike on Hamas command and control centers.

"The command centers were embedded in the areas of the 'Abdelfattah Hamouda' and 'Al-Zahra' schools in Daraj Tuffah," it added.

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

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 39,699, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.