Protests erupt in Amman in solidarity with Gaza

Protesters in Amman took the streets in solidarity with Gaza, gathering in the area surrounding the U.S. embassy in the Jordanian capital, and chanting slogans against the U.S. and its support for Israel.

Israeli troops moved into an area of northern Gaza taking control of more territory around the edge of the enclave, the military said, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.

Israel resumed its operation in Gaza with a heavy series of airstrikes on March 18 and sent troops back in after a two month pause during which 38 hostages were returned in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Over the past two weeks, more than 280,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, according to the United Nations Humanitarian Agency OCHA, adding to the misery of families that have already been displaced multiple times over the past 18 months.

Palestinians in Gaza City inspected the Israeli strike on a school building where displaced families were sheltering, which killed at least 27 people including women and children, according to Gaza health authorities.

The Israeli military said the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City had been used as a command and control centre by Hamas militants and accused the fighters of deliberately using civilian infrastructure as bases. Hamas denies that it operates among civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing their homes in recent days in one of the biggest mass exoduses of the war, as Israeli forces have moved to expand the territory under their control.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has reduced much of Gaza to ruins and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health authorities.