UN says Israel 'deliberately' hitting Gaza health system as school airstrike kills 28

An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in Gaza killed 28 people, including women and children, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

- ALEX CROFT

Dozens were injured in the strike on Rufaida School in the city Deir Al-Balah, where more than 1 million displaced people are sheltering after fleeing a year of war. The Israeli military said it was targeting militants, claiming it took “numerous steps” to mitigate harm to civilians.

The airstrike comes as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 42,000, since Israel’s bombardment and invasion began on 7 October 2023, following the Hamas attacks.

Later yesterday, a UN inquiry said Israel’s demolition of the Gaza health system amounted to the crime against humanity of “extermination”. In a statement released before the full report, ex-UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay accused Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”.

She added: “Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system.”

Israeli forces had deliberately killed and tortured medical personnel, the inquiry added, as well as targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave.