CAIRO/GAZA — At least 38 people were killed in Gaza City on Wednesday following Israeli airstrikes that targeted a school sheltering displaced families and an area near a bustling market and restaurant, according to local medical sources.
Emergency workers said the first attack hit the Karama School in Tuffah, a suburb of Gaza City, killing 15 people. Later, another strike near a popular marketplace claimed at least 23 more lives, including women and children.
Video from the aftermath shows wounded civilians being rushed away on carts and pickup trucks. One distraught woman clutching a baby sobbed, “The blood was like a lake,” as her two other children stood beside her.
Ahmed Al-Saoudi, who witnessed the market strike, said, “People come here to find basic goods… No one was safe — not even animals or the elderly.”
Another incident on Tuesday saw a similar tragedy in central Gaza’s Bureij camp, where Israeli strikes on a school housing displaced people killed 33, including children. Israel claimed the site was being used by militants operating from within the compound.
Survivors returned Wednesday to sift through the rubble. “It was like an earthquake,” said Ali Al-Shaqra, who said 300 families had sought shelter in that school.
Meanwhile, in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, Israeli troops continued demolitions after reportedly gaining control of the city.
The armed wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed they targeted an Israeli armored unit with mines and mortar fire in Khan Younis.
Since the breakdown of a U.S.-brokered truce in March, Israel has tightened its blockade, with the UN warning of imminent famine for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. Israel now controls nearly a third of Gaza, where watchtowers and military zones are being established.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly planning a wider campaign, possibly seizing the entire Gaza Strip, though operations are expected to be delayed until after U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming regional visit.
A Hamas spokesperson rejected proposals for a short-term truce tied to aid delivery, demanding a full ceasefire to end the war.
The conflict, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to over 52,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run health sources. More than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war began, including two more in Wednesday’s attacks.