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Written by Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, doctors said, as the Israeli military ordered discharged from the hospital in the north.
Palestinian doctors said that eight people, including children, were killed at the Musa Bin Nusayr School that shelters displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike targeted Hamas fighters operating from a command center installed inside the school. It said Hamas militants used the area to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces.
Also in Gaza City, doctors said that four Palestinians were killed when a plane hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of the area.
In the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, where the army has been operating since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army ordered workers to leave the hospital and transport the sick and injured to another hospital in the area.
Abu Safiya said the mission was “close to impossible” because the workers did not have ambulances to transport the patients.
The Israeli army has been operating in two northern Gaza towns, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp for almost three months.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to destroy the areas to create a safe haven.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the area is aimed at fighting Hamas fighters and preventing them from regrouping. It said its forces had killed hundreds of militants and destroyed military buildings since the operation began.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed to have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers in ambushes at the same time.
Mediators have not yet reached a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
Sources close to the talks told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had managed to resolve differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after militants led by Hamas attacked Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is not clear how many are alive.
Gaza authorities say the Israeli campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of its 2.3 million residents. A large part of the beach has been destroyed.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Ali SawaftaEditing by Christian Schmollinger and Frances (BCBA:) Kerry
