By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli military raids across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, eight of them at a school hosting displaced families in Gaza City, doctors said, as the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a hospital in the north .
Palestinian doctors said eight people, including children, were killed at the Musa Bin Nusayr school that housed displaced families in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike targeted Hamas fighters operating from a command center embedded inside the school. It said Hamas fighters used the site to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces.
Also in Gaza City, medics said four Palestinians were killed when an airstrike hit a car.
At least five other Palestinians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis south of the enclave.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where the army has been operating since October, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the army ordered staff to evacuate the hospital and transfer patients and wounded to another hospital in the area.
Abu Shafiyya said the mission was “almost impossible” because staff did not have ambulances to move patients.
The Israeli army has been operating in the two northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the nearby Jabalia camp for nearly three months.
Palestinians have accused Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate these areas to create a safe zone.
Israel denies this and says the campaign in the area was aimed at fighting Hamas militants and preventing them from rebuilding. It said its forces have killed hundreds of militants and destroyed military infrastructure since the operation began.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they killed many Israeli soldiers in ambushes during the same period.
Mediators have yet to secure 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 some differences between the warring sides, but points of conflict remained.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli estimates. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Ali SawaftaEditing by Christian Schmollinger and Francesca (BCBA:) Kerry)
