Israeli airstrike hits UN school in Gaza, kills 14

An Israeli airstrike killed at least 14 people, including two children, when it hit a UN school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in central Gaza on Wednesday, hospital officials said.

The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Officials from Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said they had received 10 dead from the strike, and another four dead were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. At least one woman and two children were among those killed, and at least 18 people were wounded in the strike, hospital officials said.

The school hit on Thursday — called the al-Jaouni Boys Preparatory School, one of the many in Gaza run by the UN agency for Palestinians UNWRA — has been hit by multiple strikes over the course of the war.

Israel frequently bombs schools, saying they are being used by Hamas militants. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties from its strikes.