Israel kills 14 displaced civilians in airstrike on UNRWA school in central Gaza

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Israeli military carried out a deadly airstrike on Wednesday targeting displaced civilians in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 14 people and leaving dozens injured.

According to the Government Media Office, the airstrike hit Al-Jaouni School, operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was sheltering displaced families. Among the victims were UNRWA staff members, as well as, women and children.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli forces struck the school without prior warning. This marks the fifth time an UNRWA school has been targeted since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza.

Basal added that several displaced people remain trapped under the rubble, and the death toll is expected to rise as many of the injured are in critical condition. Al-Jaouni School had been sheltering over 5,000 displaced individuals at the time of the attack.

The Israeli military admitted to bombing the school, claiming it had targeted a “Hamas leadership compound in the Al-Nuseirat area.”

This massacre follows a series of Israeli attacks on Al-Nuseirat, including a military operation in June.

The strike on Al-Jaouni School comes just days after another massacre in Khan Younis, where dozens were killed and wounded by Israeli forces. Since the start of the current genocide on October 7, the Israeli military has bombed dozens of UNRWA schools across Gaza.

Meanwhile, medical sources reported to Al Jazeera that 32 Palestinians were killed in ongoing Israeli airstrikes across central and southern Gaza earlier today.

In a separate incident, four people were killed in an airstrike on Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and the nearby Al-Mughraqa area in central Gaza. In the southern town of Khuza’a, Khan Younis, 11 people were killed in a strike on their home. A child also lost their life in the southeastern area of Qizan al-Najjar.

Additionally, Israeli forces targeted a house in Al-Mawasi neighborhood west of Rafah, killing four more Palestinians. In Gaza City, Israeli jets bombed areas surrounding Ain Jalut School in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

The Ministry of Health reported earlier that the death toll from the Israeli assault, ongoing for the past 11 months, has exceeded 41,000, with more than 94,000 wounded. Palestinian estimates suggest that over 10,000 bodies remain trapped under the rubble.