Israeli airstrikes kill 10 in school housing displaced families, hit children's hospital, medics say
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — An Israeli F-35 combat aircraft is seen in the skies over Israel's border with Lebanon, in northern Israel, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza killed at least 10 people on Wednesday, while another hit a children's hospital, medics said, as three European leaders called on Israel to end its blockade on aid.
Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza's land.
Israel has also imposed a blockade on all goods into Gaza, including fuel and electricity, since the beginning of March.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain jointly called on Israel to adhere to international law and allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
They also urged for the ceasefire to be restored and for remaining hostages held by militant group Hamas to be released.
"Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change," the ministers said in a statement.
Medics said the airstrike on the Yaffa School in the Tuffah area of Gaza City set fire to tents and classrooms. There has been no Israeli comment on the school attack.
Some furniture was still in flames several hours after the strike as people sifted through blackened classrooms and the schoolyard in search of their belongings.
“We were sleeping and suddenly something exploded, we started looking and found the whole school on fire, the tents here and there were on fire, everything was on fire," said eyewitness, Um Mohammed Al-Hwaiti.
"People were shouting and men were carrying people, charred (people), charred children, and were walking and saying: ‘Dear God, dear God, we have no one but you.’ What can we say? Dear God, only,” she told Reuters.
Medics said at least 36 people had been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Wednesday.
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, SOLAR POWER DAMAGED
The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli missile hit the upper building of the Durra Children's Hospital in Gaza City, damaging the intensive care unit and destroying the solar panel system that feeds the facility with power. No one was killed in the hospital strike.
Gaza's healthcare system is close to collapse due to Israel's blockade, which it says is aimed at pressuring the Hamas militants who run Gaza to release 59 remaining Israeli hostages captured in the October 2023 attacks that precipitated the war. Hamas says it is prepared to free them but only as part of a deal that ends the war.
The health ministry said many Palestinian victims of Israeli military strikes remained trapped under buildings, as rescue teams are unable to reach them because of ongoing bombardments. The attacks have also hit dozens of bulldozers and machinery used to clear roads, remove debris, and to carry out rescue operations.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had hit 40 "engineering vehicles" that were used for "terrorist actions", including Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Israel says 1,200 people were killed in Hamas' assault that day and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza.
Since then, local health authorities have reported that over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Mahmoud Issa in Gaza; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
