At least 46 Palestinians were killed early Monday in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, including 31 people who died when a school-turned-shelter was struck while residents were sleeping, according to local health authorities.
The attack ignited a fire that consumed their belongings, leaving behind charred bodies and devastation. The Israeli military claimed it had targeted militant operatives using the school as a base, according to a statement cited by the Associated Press.
The school, located in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, was reportedly hit three times, said Fahmy Awad, head of emergency services at Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Among the victims were a father and his five children, and over 55 others were injured.
Israel Intensifies Gaza Offensive
Israel resumed its full-scale military campaign in March, following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the group designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union.
Israeli forces have vowed to maintain their offensive until Hamas is dismantled or disarmed, and until the 58 remaining hostages, taken during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, are returned. Israeli estimates suggest that a third of those hostages are still alive.
Israel has recently allowed a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza after a two-and-a-half-month blockade, but international aid organizations say the deliveries are far from sufficient to meet the massive needs of the starving population.
A new aid distribution system, backed by Israel and the U.S., but rejected by the UN and other NGOs, is expected to launch this week. However, the American official leading the initiative has resigned, warning the operation cannot be independently run.
Devastation and Displacement
Israel’s campaign has flattened large swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 90% of the population, with many forced to flee multiple times.
Another Israeli airstrike on a home killed 15 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired three rockets from Gaza—two failed to leave the territory and the third was intercepted, the Israeli army reported.
Israel continues to blame Hamas for civilian casualties, asserting that the group operates within densely populated areas, including residential neighborhoods and public facilities like schools.
The ongoing war, now in its eighth month, was sparked by a Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 hostages taken. In retaliation, Israel launched a relentless assault that has, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its tally.
