Israeli airstrikes hit a school being used by displaced Palestinians in central Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, as the country's negotiators prepared to meet international mediators to discuss a proposed ceasefire. At least one small child was among the dead taken from the girls school in Deir al-Balah to Al-Aqsa Hospital. Israel's military said it targeted a Hamas command center used "as a hiding place to direct and plan numerous attacks against IDF troops" and "developed and stored large quantities of weapons." Civil defense workers in Gaza said thousands had been sheltering in the school, which also contained a medical site. Journalists from the AP saw a dead toddler in an ambulance and bodies covered with blankets. Inside the school, shattered walls gaped and classrooms were in ruins.
People searched for victims in rubble strewn with pillows and other signs of shelter. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 12 people were killed in other strikes on Saturday. Officials from the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Israel are scheduled to meet in Italy on Sunday to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations. US officials on Friday said Israel and Hamas agree on the basic framework of the three-phase deal under consideration. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his speech earlier this week to the US Congress vowed to press ahead with the war until Israel achieves "total victory." After the Israeli strike on the school, Palestinian officials condemned the speech.
A rep for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that Netanyahu's reception from supporters in the US constituted a "green light" to continue Israel's offensive. "Every time the occupation bombs a school that shelters displaced persons, we see only some condemnations and denunciations that will not force the occupation to stop its bloody aggression," he said. Meanwhile, Israel's military ordered the evacuation of part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of a planned strike on Khan Yunis on Saturday. The order was in response to rocket fire that Israel said came from the area. The military said it planned an operation against Hamas militants in the city, including parts of Muwasi, the crowded tent camp in an area where Israel has told thousands of Palestinians to seek refuge. More here.
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