At least 10 people have died and several others were wounded after an Israeli airstrike on a neighbourhood outside a school sheltering displaced Palestinians on Monday (7 April), according to health officials.
The attack comes amid heightened tensions, threatening the fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza made last October.
Local residents said violence erupted when some Palestinians clashed with members of an Israeli-backed militia near the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. The militia allegedly attacked the school in an attempt to abduct people, prompting residents to defend themselves.
Amid the clashes, Israeli drones fired twice into the area, hitting a densely packed neighbourhood of mostly displaced families. Medics reported at least 10 fatalities, though the exact number of civilians killed remains unclear.
Ahmed al-Maghazi, an eyewitness, described the scene as chaotic. “The residents tried to defend their homes, but the occupation forces targeted them directly. There was chaos everywhere, people running for cover, and then the strikes came.”
Later on Monday, a leader of one of the Israeli-backed militias claimed in a video - which Reuters could not immediately verify - that five Hamas members were killed in the clashes. Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, has yet to comment.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian riding a motorbike and injured a child in Gaza City according to local officials. In a separate incident, Israeli forces shot another Palestinian in central Gaza. Monday’s total death toll has reached at least 12 officials said.
The Israeli military said the vehicle that was fired upon continued to accelerate towards troops despite repeated warning shots, describing the action as necessary to protect soldiers.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed one of its contractors in Gaza was killed during a security incident, prompting the organisation to suspend medical evacuations via the Rafah crossing to Egypt.
Two local WHO employees were injured, although two other staff members present were unharmed. The Israeli military said the incident is under review.
Both Hamas and Israel have blamed each other for violations of the ceasefire. Gaza’s health ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 700 Palestinians since then, while Israel says four of its soldiers have died in attacks by militants.
Hamas has resisted disarmament, a key condition of the U.S. peace plan. The group warned that discussing disarmament before Israel completes the first phase of the plan would amount to “continuing genocide” against Palestinians.
The cycle of violence began 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s military response over the following two years killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, the majority civilians, leaving Gaza devastated.
Famine spread, infrastructure was destroyed, and most of the population was displaced according to the United Nations.
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