School strike kills dozens, officials say, as Israel expands north Gaza operation

Israel on Friday announced it would expand its “security zone” in north Gaza through further ground operations, as Palestinian health officials and emergency responders said dozens had been killed in an airstrike on a school housing displaced people.

“Troops have begun conducting ground activity in the area of Shejaiya in northern Gaza, in order to expand the security zone,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, adding that civilians had been told to evacuate “via organized routes.” Earlier this week, Defense Minister Israel Katz had vowed the military would “seize large areas” of the enclave to create the buffer.

Israeli leaders, including Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have touted increased military pressure as the best way to secure the release of the hostages remaining in Gaza. Katz previously suggested territory seized in Gaza could be “annexed” to Israel. Hamas has said the hostages will be freed only through negotiations.

According to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office, two-thirds of the Gaza Strip – already a densely populated area before much of the enclave was destroyed in the war – are under displacement orders or in “no-go” zones. It has estimated that around 280,000 people had been newly displaced since March 18, when Israel broke a ceasefire and resumed its attacks on Gaza.

Airstrikes have continued to pound the enclave, which has been under an aid blockade for the past month. Gaza’s Health Ministry said in an update Friday that at least 86 bodies and 287 injured people had been brought to Gaza’s hospitals over the past day.

Thursday’s strike on Dar al-Arqam school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City killed at least 27 and injured more than 70, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in an update posted Thursday evening local time.

Fadel Naim, acting director of al-Ahli Hospital, told the Washington Post via WhatsApp that a large number of the casualties were “children, and many of the wounded need surgical intervention due to their injuries in vital areas such as the chest and abdomen. Unfortunately, a number of them need amputation of limbs.”

Gaza’s Civil Defense said on social media early Friday that the death toll from the strike had increased to 31.

The IDF said in an update Thursday evening that it had targeted “prominent” militants “who were in a Hamas command and control center in the area of Gaza City.” It did not specify the exact location of its attack, but said that “prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians including the use of aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.”

Also Thursday, the United Nations’ top human rights official addressed the Security Council, raising concerns about the killing of 15 medical workers in Rafah last month.

The bodies of the first responders – eight paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), six civil defense workers and one U.N. staff member – were found in a mass grave Sunday, a week after they disappeared.

Their deaths raised “further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military,” U.N. high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said, calling for an independent investigation into the killings.

Gaza’s civil defense agency has said it found evidence that members of one of its crews had been executed, while others had their hands bound, or had bullet holes visible in their chests and heads.

The Israeli military said it fired on the vehicles after they “advanced suspiciously toward the troops.”

Nadav Shoshani, international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said Thursday that the incident was under review and would be “investigated further.” He added that an initial IDF investigation found there were “terrorists” in the vehicles and denied those killed had been executed or that their hands had been tied.

OCHA said in an update Thursday that “available information indicates that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid crews were struck one after another over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues.”

“They were buried under the sand, alongside their wrecked emergency vehicles – five clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck and a UN car,” it added.