Israeli Strike Near Gaza School Shelter Kills 10, Medics Say

At least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike near a school sheltering displaced families in central Gaza on Monday, local medics reported, as fresh violence further strained a fragile ceasefire. Witnesses and doctors told Reuters the strike hit near the Maghazi refugee camp following clashes involving an Israeli-backed armed group.

According to Palestinian sources, the fighting erupted when armed men attempted to seize individuals from the school area, prompting resistance. Shortly afterward, Israeli drones fired two rockets into the scene. Several others were wounded in the attack. A leader of the Israeli-backed group claimed that approximately five Hamas members were among the dead, though Reuters noted it could not independently verify the assertion.

Earlier on Monday, another Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian riding a motorcycle and wounded a child, while a separate shooting at a car in central Gaza left one more person dead, doctors said. Those incidents brought the day’s total death toll to at least 12.

Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since a ceasefire began in October. During that same period, Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants. The truce has repeatedly come under pressure, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

The broader war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, which Israeli figures say killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since then, Gaza health authorities say more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, which has devastated much of the enclave and displaced the majority of its population.

Schools and other civilian buildings in Gaza have frequently been used as shelters by displaced families, making them especially vulnerable as fighting continues. Aid agencies and U.N. officials have repeatedly warned that the collapse of safe shelter, medical access, and humanitarian relief is deepening civilian suffering across the strip.

Monday’s strike underscores how quickly localized clashes can escalate into deadly attacks in Gaza’s densely populated areas. With ceasefire talks stalled and mutual distrust deepening, civilians remain trapped between military operations, armed groups, and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

Expansion (additional context and analysis):

The Maghazi refugee camp, one of several long-established camps in central Gaza, has seen repeated Israeli military activity throughout the conflict due to its dense population and the presence of militant networks. Schools in Gaza have often served as de facto shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs), despite the lack of formal protections under international humanitarian law when combatants are alleged to operate nearby. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reported that more than 85% of Gaza’s school buildings have been either damaged or directly hit since October 2023, rendering them unusable for education and dangerously overcrowded for shelter.

Medical officials in Gaza have also warned that repeated strikes near civilian infrastructure are overwhelming an already crippled health system. Only about half of Gaza’s hospitals remain partially functional, and many are operating without adequate fuel, surgical supplies, or trauma care capacity. The World Health Organization has called for independent investigations into attacks near protected sites, but access for international monitors remains severely restricted.

On the diplomatic front, efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to broker a lasting ceasefire have made little progress. Recent proposals for a prisoner and hostage exchange have stalled over disagreements on the sequencing of withdrawals and the scope of humanitarian access. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has maintained that it will continue operations to prevent Hamas from regrouping, while Palestinian factions have threatened to resume rocket fire if strikes on civilian areas persist.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented multiple instances of what they describe as disproportionate or indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces near schools and medical facilities. Israel has consistently stated that it takes precautions to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of embedding fighters within civilian infrastructure a charge Hamas denies.

As the violence grinds on, the civilian population of Gaza nearly half of whom are children faces an escalating crisis of survival. Acute food insecurity, water shortages, and the spread of infectious diseases are now widespread, with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) recently warning that famine conditions are present in parts of northern Gaza. The strike near the Maghazi school serves as a grim reminder that even amid truce talks, no place in Gaza has been rendered truly safe.

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