Israeli airstrikes kill 23 in Gaza City school that houses displaced families, local officials say

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 9:47 AM EDT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

An Israeli airstrike connected a schoolhouse sheltering displaced families successful northern Gaza connected Wednesday killed astatine slightest 23 people, portion different deed a children's hospital, section wellness officials said.

Medics said the airstrike connected the Yaffa School successful the Tuffah country of Gaza City acceptable occurrence to tents and classrooms. There has been nary Israeli remark connected the schoolhouse attack.

Some furnishings was inactive successful flames respective hours aft the onslaught arsenic radical sifted done blackened classrooms and the schoolyard successful hunt of their belongings.

"We were sleeping and abruptly thing exploded, we started looking and recovered the full schoolhouse connected fire, the tents present and determination were connected fire, everything was connected fire," said witness Um Mohammed Al-Hwaiti.

"People were shouting and men were carrying people, charred [people], charred children, and were walking and saying: 'Dear God, beloved God, we person nary 1 but you.' What tin we say? Dear God, only," she told Reuters.

Medics said astatine slightest 10 different radical were killed successful abstracted Israeli strikes crossed the enclave.

Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks person killed much than 1,600 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands person been forced from their homes arsenic Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza's land.

ICU unit, star powerfulness damaged astatine children's hospital

On Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli rocket besides deed the precocious gathering of the Durra Children's Hospital in Gaza City, damaging the intensive attraction portion and destroying the star sheet strategy that feeds the installation with power. No 1 was killed successful the infirmary strike.

Gaza's health-care strategy is adjacent to illness owed to an Israeli blockade connected each supplies to Gaza, including substance and electricity, since the opening of March, erstwhile it relaunched subject operations.

It says the blockade is aimed astatine pressuring the Hamas militants who run Gaza to merchandise 59 remaining Israeli hostages captured successful the October 2023 attacks that precipitated the war. Hamas says it is prepared to escaped them but lone arsenic portion of a woody that ends the war.

The Health Ministry said galore Palestinian victims of Israeli subject strikes remained trapped nether rubble and connected the roads, arsenic rescue teams are incapable to scope them due to the fact that of ongoing bombardments. The attacks person besides deed dozens of bulldozers and machinery utilized to wide roads, region debris and to transportation retired rescue operations.

The Israeli subject said connected Tuesday it had deed 40 "engineering vehicles" that were utilized for "terrorist actions," including Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel.

Bodies stay nether rubble, antheral says

Some of those dense vehicles were parked connected the roadworthy and others wrong the garages of municipalities.

"For a twelvemonth now, immoderate radical person inactive not been retrieved from nether the rubble," said Gaza man Nasser Mohammed Nasser, lasting adjacent to the mangled skeletons of destroyed bulldozers and trucks successful the bluish municipality of Jabalia.

Even earlier Tuesday's Israeli attack, Palestinians had complained they were abbreviated of dense machinery, accusing Israel of refusing to let the instrumentality into Gaza in usurpation of the January ceasefire deal.

The warfare began erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251, according to Israeli records. Most of the hostages person since been released successful ceasefire agreements oregon different deals.

Israel's violative has killed much than 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not accidental however galore of the dormant were civilians oregon combatants. Israel says it has killed astir 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.