Gaza City — At least 10 people, including a child, were killed after an Israeli strike set fire to a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City early Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence.
The school, which had been serving as a refuge for those forced to flee their homes, was engulfed in flames following the attack. Emergency workers recovered the bodies and reported a large number of injuries, with many victims suffering from severe burns. Graphic video footage shared online showed tents ablaze, melted canvas, and charred remains of furniture.
“Children are being burned while they sleep in the tents of the displaced,” Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif posted on social media, describing the devastation. He stressed that Gaza City and its northern areas had endured relentless Israeli shelling and artillery fire, warning that “there are no safe areas” left in the region.
The Palestinian Civil Defence issued an urgent call for help from the International Committee of the Red Cross after airstrikes destroyed two homes in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. According to reports, people trapped under the rubble were pleading for rescue, but ongoing attacks and Israeli-declared “no-go” zones made access nearly impossible for emergency crews.
Elsewhere, Israeli strikes continued to target shelters. In northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, a child and another individual were killed following an assault on tent settlements. Meanwhile, in the al-Mawasi “safe zone” south of Khan Younis, one person was killed and several others injured after an Israeli drone attack hit another group of tents.
Heavy Israeli artillery fire and air raids were reported throughout the Gaza Strip during the early hours, heightening fears of further casualties among an already devastated civilian population.