As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with regional Arab leaders to discuss how to contain the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians reported a deadly Israeli air strike on a U.N.-run school in northern Gaza that was serving as a shelter on Saturday. Witnesses stated that the Al-Fakhoura school in Jabalia, where thousands of evacuees were residing, was hit in the morning, news agency Reuters reported.


At least 15 people lost their lives, and dozens more were wounded, according to Gaza's health ministry official, Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, as cited by Reuters' report.


Reuters footage of the aftermath depicted broken furniture and belongings strewn on the ground, with patches of blood covering the area. A young boy, captured in a video obtained by Reuters, expressed his despair, saying, "I was standing here when three bombings happened. I carried a body and another decapitated body with my own hands. God will take my vengeance."


One resident asked angrily, "Since when has it become normal to strike shelters? This is so unfair."


Juliette Touma, the director of communication for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), confirmed to Reuters that the U.N-run school, located in the Gaza City area, had been hit. She stated that there were children among the casualties, but the exact death toll had not been verified yet.


"At least one strike hit the schoolyard where there were tents for displaced families. Another strike hit inside the school where women were baking bread," Touma said.


A series of airstrikes over the past week has devastated parts of the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest of several refugee settlements in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 195 people, as per Palestinian authorities.


The Gaza health ministry reported that another Israeli missile strike killed two women at the door of the Nasser Children Hospital, with several more people injured, the report mentioned.


Israel's ground forces encircled Gaza City on Thursday after intensifying a bombing campaign, aiming to eliminate Hamas. This followed an October 7 assault by the militant group in southern Israel, in which 1,400 people were killed, and more than 240 were taken hostage.


Gaza health officials stated on Saturday that more than 9,488 Palestinians have been killed thus far in the Israeli assault.


Israel had previously ordered all civilians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, claiming that Hamas militants were hiding in tunnels in the area and advised residents to move to the southern part of the enclave. However, bombings have continued across the entire territory, as the military contends that militants are using civilians as human shields.


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US, Arab Countries Disagree Over Cease-Fire In Gaza


US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Netanyahu insisted on no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released.


Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed the Arab countries' desire for an immediate cease-fire, stating, "the whole region is sinking in a sea of hatred that will define generations to come", news agency AP reported.


Secretary Blinken indicated that the U.S. views a cease-fire as allowing Hamas to regroup and repeat its actions. Instead, the U.S. believes humanitarian pauses can be essential in safeguarding civilians, delivering aid, and evacuating foreign nationals while still enabling Israel to achieve its goal, which is the defeat of Hamas, as per AP.


Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking in Beirut, called on Blinken to halt the aggression and refrain from proposing unimplementable ideas, AP reported.


Israel Will 'Find And Eliminate' Hamas's Gaza Head: Defence Minister Gallant 


Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Saturday that his forces would "find and eliminate" Yayha Sinwar, the chief of Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


"We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him," Gallant told a news conference, as quoted by news agency AFP.


 


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