Displaced Palestinians were sheltering in a school that came under attack, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing health sources.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted a camp run by Palestinian movement Hamas inside a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school in central Gaza.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 36,500 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.