DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, including 36 in a school-turned-shelter that was struck as people slept, igniting their belongings, according to local health officials.
The military said it targeted militants operating from the school.
Rescuers recover charred remains
The strike on the school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City also wounded dozens of people, said Fahmy Awad, head of the ministry’s emergency service.
He said a father and his five children were among the dead.
The Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals in Gaza City confirmed the overall toll.
Awad said the school was hit three times while people slept, setting their belongings ablaze.
Footage circulating online showed rescuers struggling to extinguish fires and recovering charred remains.
The military said it targeted a militant command and control center inside the school that Hamas and Islamic Jihad used to gather intelligence for attacks.
Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in residential areas.
A separate strike on a home in Jabalya in northern Gaza killed 16 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.
Source – AP
