JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Thursday it was targeting what it called a “Hamas compound” at a school in the Gaza Strip. In an attack that killed at least 32 people and injured dozens, according to Hamas-affiliated media.
Information about the strike in the Nuseirat region remained conflicting Thursday morning and The Associated Press could not immediately independently confirm details of the strike.
Hamas’s al-Aqsa television channel reported at least 39 deaths, without providing a source for the figures. At least 32 people were killed and dozens of others injured, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The Israeli army said its fighter jets hit the school run by the United Nations aid agency known by its acronym UNRWA.
The Israeli military claimed, without immediately providing evidence, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad used the school as a cover for their operations.
“Before the attack, a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians during the attack, including conducting aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information,” the Israeli military claimed.
The Nuseirat refugee camp is located in the middle of the Gaza Strip. It is a built-up Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
The Israeli military published an image of the school, which clearly showed the “UN” on the roof. The image described the attacks on two parts of the building on the upper floors.
The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which killed at least 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 36,000 Palestinians, while hundreds of others died during operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
