At least 54 Palestinians were killed overnight in a series of Israeli air strikes on northern Gaza, with the deadliest attack hitting a school sheltering displaced families, local health officials said on Sunday.
According to hospital directors who spoke to the BBC, the Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City, where hundreds had taken refuge from fighting in nearby Beit Lahia, was struck during the night. Civil Defence teams reported at least 35 fatalities at the school, including women and children. Several bodies were severely burned after fires broke out in two classrooms used as makeshift living quarters.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had carried out the strike, claiming the school was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad as a “command and control centre.” The military accused the groups of using civilians as human shields while planning attacks on Israeli targets.
“The area was being used by the terrorists to plan and carry out attacks,” the IDF stated. It did not directly address the civilian deaths.
Footage shared online showed large sections of the school engulfed in flames, with harrowing scenes of injured survivors and charred bodies, including children. Faris Afana, head of ambulance services in northern Gaza, said his teams encountered horrific scenes and were unable to rescue people due to intense fires. “There were sleeping children and women in those classrooms,” he said. “Some of them were screaming, but we couldn’t reach them.”
Among the dead was Mohammad Al-Kasih, head of investigations for the Hamas-run police in northern Gaza, along with his wife and children, according to local media reports.
In a separate strike, 19 people were killed in a house in Jabalia. The Israeli military has not commented on that incident.
The escalation comes as part of a broader Israeli military push in northern Gaza. The IDF said it targeted over 200 locations across the territory in 48 hours, intensifying its campaign against what it terms “terrorist organisations.”
Meanwhile, international concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to grow. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that two of its staff members were killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis on Saturday. The ICRC said the deaths underscore the “intolerable civilian toll” of the ongoing conflict.
Since October 7, when Hamas launched a deadly cross-border attack killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages, more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 16,500 children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
