Israel kills 39 Palestinians with airstrike targeting UNRWA school in central Gaza

Israeli army admits to targeting the school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, claiming Hamas fighters were hiding inside.

At least 39 displaced Palestinians were killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering thousands of displaced people in Gaza city's Nuseirat refugee camp, according to local authorities.

In a statement, the Gaza-based Government Media Office said the Israeli army struck a UN agency for Palestinian refugees-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp also leaving dozens of people injured.

It added that the Israeli army's relentless “massacres” in Gaza is proof that it continues the “genocide” of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Authorities at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that the attack left at least 39 people dead and dozens of others injured. They said the death toll may rise as victims are still being brought to the hospital.

The Israeli army admitted to hitting the UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, claiming Hamas fighters were hiding inside.

Israel launched its offensive on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis.

The ongoing Israeli onslaught has continued despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Around 36,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.