'At least 20 killed' in UN school being used as shelter in Gaza
The UN said one of its schools being used as a shelter was damaged in strikes on Gaza’s Jabalia Refugee Camp, killing at least 20.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it came "after two days of heavy bombardments in the area."
Sky News verified footage showing injured people at the school but is unable to officially confirm the cause.
The UNRWA said “another shelter at Beach Refugee Camp was also damaged, with one child reportedly killed” earlier on Thursday.
Both these locations are in the north of the Gaza Strip – an area Israel has declared an evacuation zone. They are two of four shelters the UNRWA says have been damaged in the last 24 hours.
The Israeli military says it has killed two Hamas commanders in its strikes on the camp - Ibrahim Biari, who reportedly helped lead the October 7 massacres, and the head of the Islamist group's anti-tank missile unit, Muhammad A'sar.
🛑 Four @UNRWA shelters damaged in less than 24 hours in📍#GazaStrip
Today a @UN school was damaged in Jabalia Refugee Camp, reportedly killing at least 20 people
Another shelter at Beach Refugee Camp was also damaged, with one child reportedly killedhttps://t.co/vz5cqZRksg pic.twitter.com/q4cAdn5XzE— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 2, 2023
The IDF said its attacks were "based on precise intelligence" and repeated assertions that "Hamas deliberately builds its terror infrastructure under, around and within civilian buildings, intentionally endangering Gazan civilians".
Images from the scene on Wednesday showed people searching for survivors inside wrecked buildings, and people climbing through several large craters.
"It is a massacre," one witness said.
The first strike on the camp killed about 50 people and wounded 150, according to Palestinian health officials.
It comes as Israeli soldiers have pushed further into Gaza City but have faced resistance from militant hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.
"We're at the height of the battle. We've had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday.