At least 54 Palestinians were killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including dozens sheltering inside a UN-run school in Gaza City, according to hospital officials.
The strike hit Fahmi Al-Jargawi School, where hundreds had sought refuge from intensified Israeli attacks on Beit Lahia. Civil Defence teams recovered bodies, many of them children, from classrooms engulfed in flames. At least 35 people were killed in the school alone.
The Israeli military claimed it was targeting a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command center and accused the group of operating from civilian areas.
On the ground, emergency responders described scenes of horror, with entire families trapped in burning rooms.
A separate strike in Jabalia reportedly killed 19 people, and an earlier airstrike on a doctor’s home killed nine of her ten children.
The strikes come amid renewed international mediation efforts. Hamas announced that it had agreed to a new ceasefire proposal that includes a 70-day truce, the phased release of 10 Israeli hostages, a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
However, US mediator Steve Witkoff dismissed Hamas’ statement, saying the version of the deal they accepted was “completely unacceptable” and differed from what was actually proposed. Israel has yet to issue a formal response.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. Two Red Cross workers were killed in Khan Younis, and a controversial US-backed aid plan was abandoned after criticism over its neutrality. Although 107 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, the UN says that’s far below the minimum daily requirement.
Calls for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel are growing louder, with 20 nations meeting in Madrid to press for an end to the war.
Since the start of the conflict on 7 October, more than 53,900 people have been killed in Gaza, including at least 16,500 children, according to the health ministry.
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