Israeli army strikes school shelter, 5 dead, dozens injured

At least five Palestinians were killed and dozens of others injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian media reported.

It was the Israeli army’s second major attack on Palestinian civilians as earlier, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that “five people were killed and dozens others injured at dawn on Friday in an Israeli bombing that targeted a school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, southern the Gaza Strip.”

The news agency had earlier reported that “at least four Palestinians, including children, were killed, and many others injured, in an Israeli bombing targeting the Abu Nasr family home in western Khan Younis.”

The Israeli artillery shelling on several neighborhoods in Khan Younis since Thursday night has also resulted in dozens of casualties and injuries, the media outlet said.

Many residential neighborhoods and homes in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Nuseirat, and Jabalia were also targeted, resulting in several injuries.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed and 50,897 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while 135 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.