Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 8, including 5 children

At least eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza City, reported Xinhua, quoting Palestinian sources on Wednesday.

Israeli aircraft bombed the "Ibn Al-Haytham" school housing displaced people in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua.

"Our teams recovered the bodies of eight victims, including five children and two women, as a result of the Israeli airstrike," the Gaza Civil Defense said in a press statement.

Local sources and eyewitnesses said the airstrike caused significant destruction to the schoolyard and classrooms.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said in a statement that its air force targeted Hamas militants at a command and control center previously known as the Ibn Al-Haytham school in Gaza City.

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 some 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 41,272, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement Wednesday.