Israeli airstrike kills at least 10 Palestinians near Gaza school | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Drones are reported to have fired missiles into an area near Maghazi refugee camp.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people and wounded several others near a school housing displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, according to health officials.

The strikes on Monday came as Palestinians clashed with members of an Israeli-backed militia who medics and residents said attacked the school in an attempt to kidnap some people.

“At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured, including six in critical condition, by Israeli shelling and clashes east of Maghazi Refugee Camp,” Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said in a statement.

Amid the clashes, Israeli drones fired two missiles, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others, the witnesses added.

“The residents tried to defend their homes, but the occupation forces directly targeted them,” Ahmed al-Maghazi told the Reuters news agency.

The leader of the Israeli-backed militia said in a video later published that they had killed about five Hamas members.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify this claim. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

‘Safe Zone’

During Israel’s two-year genocidal war on Gaza, the Maghazi refugee camp was designated a so-called safe zone by the Israeli military.

It was previously one of the Palestinian enclave’s smallest refugee camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA), with about 30,000 residents. In the first months of the war, the population more than tripled.

Despite its designation as a “safe zone”, the Israeli military has targeted it in numerous deadly attacks. One attack in December 2023 killed more than 100 people, mostly displaced women and children.

Since a fragile “ceasefire” was reached in October, Israel has continued to attack sites across the Gaza Strip, including the Maghazi camp.

Earlier today was a staff member of the World Health Organization (WHO). killed in Gazaand several others were injured when the Israeli army fired on their vehicle, according to sources, including an Al Jazeera correspondent.