Palestinian authorities: 16 dead in Israeli air strike on school in Gaza Strip

Gaza: At least 16 people were killed and several injured in an Israeli air strike on a school in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian authorities.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the building housed thousands of displaced people.

In a statement posted on social media platform X on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the air force had “attacked several terrorists operating in buildings in the area of ​​UNRWA’s Al-Jaouni school in central Gaza.”

“This location served as both a hiding place and an operational infrastructure from which attacks against IDF forces operating in Gaza were directed and carried out,” it said.

The Israeli military further stated that numerous steps had been taken before the attack to “reduce the risk of harm to the civilian population, including the use of precise aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.”

The Israeli military also accused Hamas of systematic violations of international law by using “civilian structures and the civilian population as human shields for its terrorist attacks” against Israel.