Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Schools Kills 25

An Israeli airstrike hit two schools in Gaza City, killing at least 25 people, the Palestinian official news agency said, while the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas military compound embedded in the schools.

Footage circulated on Palestinian media showed bodies scattered inside the yard of one of two blast-wrecked schools as residents rushed to carry casualties, including children, and loaded them into ambulance vehicles that took them to at least two nearby hospitals.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said dozens were wounded in addition to the 25 fatalities in the schools of Hassan Salama and Al-Nasser, which housed Palestinian displaced families. They said the strike destroyed several structures inside the facilities.

The Israeli military said it struck militants inside a Hamas command embedded within the schools, accusing Hamas of operating from within civilian property. Hamas denies using civilian institutions for military purposes.

The Hamas-run government media office said Israel had struck 172 designated shelters, mostly schools, housing thousands of displaced families since Oct. 7.

The health ministry added the tent camp was located around Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.

Israeli air strikes hit several locations in Gaza including this tent encampment inside a hospital in the central part of the enclave.

The attacks killed at least 35 people and wounded dozens of others according to Gaza health officials.

The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant who "conducted terror activities" and that secondary explosions were identified, indicating weapons were present in the area.

The hospital compound is crowded with thousands of people displaced by fighting in other parts of Gaza including Saeed al-Daya.

At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.