At least 30 people have been killed and over 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a girls' school in Deir Al-Balah , central Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. This happened as the country's negotiators prepared to meet international mediators to discuss a proposed cease-fire.
The Israeli military said it had launched the strike in order to destroy a Hamas command and control centre inside the compound. Gaza's Health Ministry said 11 people were killed in other strikes on Saturday.
Israel's military ordered the evacuation of a part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of a planned strike on Khan Younis on Saturday.
The evacuation order is in response to rocket fire that Israel said originated from the area. The military said it planned an operation against Hamas militants in the city, including parts of Muwasi, the crowded tent camp in an area where Israel has told thousands of Palestinians to seek refuge throughout the war.
The planned strike comes a day before officials from the US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel are scheduled to meet in Italy and discuss the ongoing hostage and cease-fire negotiations.
CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Mossad director David Barnea and Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel on Sunday, according to officials from the US and Egypt who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the plans.
According to Israeli estimates, about 1.8 million Palestinians are currently sheltering there after being uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel's punishing air and ground campaign. In November, the military said the area could still be struck and that it was “not a safe zone, but it is a safer place than any other” in Gaza.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.
The war began with an assault by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people.
(With AP Inputs)
