Gaza's civil defense agency said Saturday (10/8) that at least 90 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a school housing refugees in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The agency said three Israeli rockets hit a school in Gaza City, describing the incident as a “horrific massacre.” Several bodies were burned.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that it “striked Hamas terrorists operating inside the Hamas command and control center located in the Al-Taba'een school”.
The attack came two days after Gaza authorities said more than 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on two other schools in Gaza City, and the military said at the time it had struck a Hamas command center.
Israel has vowed to crush the Palestinian group in retaliation for its Oct. 7 attack. But it agreed to resume talks next week at the request of international mediators following intensive diplomacy aimed at preventing a wider conflict in the region.
“Enough!” shouted Khan Yunis resident Ahmed al-Najjar.
“Have mercy on us, for God's sake, children and young women are dying in the streets. Enough!”
The Israeli military said Friday that troops were operating around Khan Yunis, a southern Gaza town from which troops withdrew in April after months of heavy fighting with Hamas.
Ceasefire Attempts
During the fighting in Gaza, there was only one ceasefire, namely in November.
Mediators from the United States (US), Qatar and Egypt have been trying for months to reach a second ceasefire.
In a joint statement on Thursday (8/8), the leaders of the three countries invited the warring parties to resume negotiations on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all existing gaps and start implementing the agreement without further delay”.
Netanyahu's office said Israel would send negotiators “to finalize the details of implementing the deal”.
Hamas has not publicly commented on the mediator's invitation.
The war in Gaza began with a Hamas offensive in October 2023 that killed 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally by the Israeli news agency. AFP based on official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants are holding 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the Israeli military said were killed.
Israel's military counter-offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which did not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths. (ft)
