Over 20 killed in Israeli air strike on UN school in Gaza

New Delhi, June 6: An Israeli air strike on a UN school in central Gaza, which was sheltering hundreds of displaced people, has killed more than 20 individuals, according to residents and media reports. The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted a “Hamas compound” housed within the school.

Local journalists reported that an Israeli warplane fired two missiles at classrooms on the top floor of the school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The Gaza media office claimed at least 27 people were killed and accused Israel of committing a “horrific massacre.”

Ambulances and rescue teams quickly transported the wounded and deceased to a nearby hospital. Footage circulating on social media depicted destroyed classrooms and bodies wrapped in shrouds at a morgue.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) issued a statement asserting that the air strike was a “precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside a UNRWA school in the Nuseirat area.” The IDF claimed the strike “eliminated” Hamas and Islamic Jihad “terrorists” involved in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages being taken.

Since that attack, at least 36,580 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Locals denied that the UNRWA school was being used by militants.

Earlier, the Israeli military announced it had taken “operational control” over eastern areas of the Bureij refugee camp and the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where dozens of Palestinians were reported killed. On Wednesday morning, the military said troops, supported by air strikes, had begun an operation against “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure above and below ground.”

Reports from the BBC, citing residents and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), described intense bombardment. MSF reported that at least 70 dead, mostly women and children, had been brought to a local hospital since Tuesday. The charity described the situation at Deir al-Balah’s al-Aqsa hospital—one of the few remaining functional health facilities in central Gaza—as “apocalyptic.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that it will start presenting the findings of its investigation into the events of October 7 and the ensuing war to the Chief of Staff next month. The initial issues to be addressed will include the battles at Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 terror attack and the defence strategy along the Gaza border, which has been in place since 2018.

Palestinian State: Fatah and Hamas to Hold Reconciliation Talks in China

According to reports in Israeli media, talks between Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are scheduled to take place in China in mid-June, officials from both sides told Reuters. These discussions follow two recent rounds of reconciliation talks, one in China and one in Russia.

Hezbollah Drone Attack Injures Eleven in Northern Israel; IDF Chief Signals Possible Offensive in Lebanon

In Lebanon, eleven people were wounded, one critically, when a Hezbollah drone struck the northern Israeli town of Hurfeish. During a tour of northern Israel, IDF Chief Herzl Halevi stated that the IDF is ready to transition to an offensive in Lebanon, indicating that the country is nearing “the point where a decision will have to be made” on the matter. The IDF reported that the Air Force targeted Hezbollah positions overnight into Wednesday across southern Lebanon.

In a separate incident, an armed man opened fire at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. Soldiers from the Lebanese army returned fire, wounding and arresting the shooter, a Syrian national, who was then evacuated to a hospital. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NBC that one Lebanese soldier was injured and that the U.S. is “working closely with local authorities…to ensure there is no continuing threat.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, which suffered extensive damage from fires triggered by rockets from Lebanon in recent days. During his visit, Netanyahu remarked, “Yesterday the ground was set alight here, but it was also set alight in Lebanon. We are prepared for very powerful action in the north.”