An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced civilians in northern Gaza killed at least 15 people, including five children on Thursday, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The strike hit Abu Hussein school in Jabaliya, an urban refugee camp, where the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive has intensified over the past week. The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had reportedly gathered at the school.
The incident marks a deadly escalation in the conflict, further highlighting the civilian toll amid the ongoing hostilities in the region. Fares Abu Hamza, head of the ministry's emergency unit in northern Gaza, confirmed the toll and said dozens of people were wounded. He said the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was struggling to treat the casualties. "Many women and children are in critical condition,” he said.
The military said it targeted a command centre run by both militant groups inside the school. It provided a list of dozens of names of people it identified as militants, who were present when the strike was called in. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.
United States' warning to Israel
Earlier on October 15, the United States warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to US weapons funding. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned their Israeli counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that the changes must occur. The letter, which restates US policy toward humanitarian aid and arms transfers, was sent amid deteriorating conditions in northern Gaza and an Israeli airstrike on a hospital tent site in central Gaza that killed at least four people and burned others.
(With AP inputs)
