Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza strip - including 27 or more sheltering at a school in the north, according to Palestinian medical authorities. The attack on the school in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City has been branded a "heinous massacre" by Hamas today.
The bodies of five women and 14 children were among those killed at the school and the death toll could still rise because some of the 70 wounded sustained critical injuries, said Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahi. More than 30 other Gaza residents were killed in strikes on homes in the nearby neighbourhood of Shijaiyah, he said, citing records at Ahli Hospital.
Overnight strikes by Israel also killed at least 55 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said.
The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas command and control center" in the Gaza City area for attacking a United Nations building used as a shelter a day earlier, killing at least 17 people. Adding it took steps to lessen harm to civilians and that the stepped-up offensive is intended to pressure Hamas and eventually expel the militant group.
Hamas condemned the strike on the school, calling it a "heinous massacre" of innocent civilians.
The strikes came as Israel's military ordered more residents in parts of northern Gaza to move west and south to shelters, warning that it planned to “work with extreme force in your area”.
A number of the Palestinians leaving the targeted areas did so on foot, with some carrying their belongings on their backs and others using donkey carts.
One resident Mohammad Ermana,72, said: "My wife and I have been walking for three hours covering only one kilometre." Clasping his wife's hand, Mohammad added: "I’m searching for shelters every hour now, not every day."
The UN humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas in January.
Israel has imposed a month-long blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid in the hope Hamas will release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
