Israeli strike across Gaza, Israel has killed at least 59 people, including women and children, hospital officials say Israel is preparing to step up its campaign against Hamas’ militants.
The strike included an attack at a school protecting hundreds of displaced people on Tuesday night. This killed 27 people, Al-Aqsa hospital officials said it included nine women and three children.
It was the fifth time a school in central Gaza has been hit since the start of the war.
Officials at Al-Ahli Hospital said 16 others were killed in attacks on targets in other areas, but 16 people died after an early morning strike at another school became a shelter in Gaza City.
A large pillar of smoke rose and the fire thrusts the sky above the school shelter at Blage, where the urban refugee camp was built. Paramedics and rescuers rushed to pull people out of the flames.
The Israeli Army (IDF) did not immediately comment on the strike.
Hamas has blamed the death toll because Israel operates from private infrastructure, including schools.
The new bloodshed comes days after Israel approved plans to strengthen military operations on the Palestinian enclave. The Palestinian enclave includes continuing to hold grip on Gaza’s seized and captured territory, forcing Palestinians to southern Gaza and controlling the distribution of aid along with private security companies.
Israel has also called tens of thousands of reserves to carry out the plan.
Israel said the plan will be gradually implemented and will not be implemented until US President Donald Trump closes his visit to the region later this month.
The escalation of the battle could increase the death toll in the devastating war that has entered 20 months.
And with Israel already controlling about 50% of Gaza, increasing the territory’s holdings indefinitely could open up the possibility of military occupation.
Trump surprises Israelis with hostage comments
Trump surprised many in Israel when he declared that only 21 of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza were still alive.
Israel claims that Israeli officials are 24 years old, saying there are “serious concerns” about the lives of the three prisoners of war.
Officials said there were no signs of life from the three people the officials had not identified.
He said that three are considered alive until there is evidence to prove that they are not.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said the prisoners’ families had been updated about their development.
The Hostage and Missing Family Forum is a group representing prisoners of war, and requested from the Israeli government, “If new information is protected from us, give it immediately.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for the war to be stopped in Gaza until all hostages are returned.
“This is the most urgent and important national mission,” he said in a post in X.
Since ending the ceasefire with Hamas in March, Israel has unleashed a fierce attack on Gaza, which has killed hundreds and captured the territory’s belt.
Before the armistice ended, Israel halted all humanitarian aid, including food, fuel and water, to its territory, causing what appears to be the worst humanitarian crisis of the 19-month war.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people.
Hamas took 251 people as hostages and currently has 59 people, of which 24 are thought to be alive.
Subsequent Israeli attacks killed 52,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry run by Hamas, which does not distinguish fighter jets and civilians.
The Israeli army says 850 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.
