Israeli air strike kills at least 10 Palestinians near Gaza school

Drones are reported to have fired missiles into an area near Maghazi refugee camp.

An Israeli air strike has killed at least 10 ⁠people and wounded several ⁠others near a school housing displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, according to health officials.

The strikes on Monday came as Palestinians had clashed with members of ⁠an Israeli-backed militia that had reportedly attacked the school in an attempt to abduct some people, according to medics and residents.

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“At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured, including six in critical condition, by Israeli shelling and clashes east of Maghazi refugee camp,” the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said in a statement.

In the midst of the clashes, Israeli ⁠drones fired two missiles, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others, the witnesses added.

“The residents tried to defend their homes, but the occupation forces targeted them directly,” Ahmed al-Maghazi told the Reuters news agency.

The leader of the Israeli-backed militia said in a video published later that they killed some five Hamas members.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify this claim. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Family members arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, where victims have been brought following an Israeli strike on the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip [AFP]

‘Safe zone’

During Israel’s two-year genocidal war on Gaza, the Maghazi refugee camp was designated by the Israeli military as a so-called safe zone.

It was previously one of the Palestinian enclave’s smallest refugee camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA), with about 30,000 residents. In the first months of war, the population more than tripled.

Despite its designation as a “safe zone”, the Israeli military targeted it in numerous deadly strikes. One attack in December 2023 killed more than 100 people, mostly displaced women and children.

Since a fragile “ceasefire” was reached in October, Israel has continued to attack sites across the Gaza Strip, including the Maghazi camp.

Earlier today, a member of staff from the World Health Organization (WHO) was killed in Gaza, and several others were injured when the Israeli army fired on their vehicle, according to sources, including an Al Jazeera correspondent.