Dozens killed in Israeli attack on UN-run school in Gaza sheltering 6,000

Israel attacked a school in Gaza on Thursday with what it described as a targeted air strike on up to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters inside. A Hamas official said 40 people were killed, including women and children sheltering at the UN site.

Israel's military said its fighter jets had carried out a "precise strike," and circulated satellite photos highlighting two parts of a building where it said the fighters were based.

"We're very confident in the intelligence," military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said, accusing Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters of deliberately using UN facilities as operational bases.

Later Israel's chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military had so far identified nine of 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters targeted in the pre-dawn strike.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office, rejected Israel's assertion that the UN school in Nuseirat, central Gaza, had hidden a Hamas command post.

"The occupation uses false fabricated stories to justify the brutal crime it conducted against dozens of displaced people," Thawabta told Reuters.

Washington said it expected Israel to be fully transparent in making information about the strike public. Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday that the Israeli strikes on a UN school didn't cross the so-called "red line" drawn by the U.S. for Israel.

Washington's "red line" regarding Israel's military operation referred to a "large-scale operation in Rafah," Miller said.

The school, run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), was sheltering 6,000 displaced people at the time, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said.

"Attacking, targeting or using UN buildings for military purposes are a blatant disregard of international humanitarian law," he added.

Noting Israel had attacked multiple schools in the past months in besieged Gaza, Niu Xinchun, a professor at Ningxia University's China-Arab Research Institute, said the international community, including UN agencies, had condemned those attacks. 

The attacks showed Israel continues to prioritize the elimination of Hamas rather than the protection of civilians, Niu added.

The Israeli determination to eliminate Hamas is a critical factor in the truce plan negotiations underway in recent days.

The U.S. issued a joint statement with other countries calling on Israel and Hamas to compromise on a deal after eight months of fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said Hamas had not yet responded to the latest ceasefire proposal and was still studying it, adding that Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. mediation efforts are still ongoing.

The Israel-Hamas conflict entered its ninth month on Friday. So far, the Palestinian death toll from conflict has risen to 36,654, with 83,309 people injured, according to the Gaza health authorities on Thursday.

(With input from agencies)