The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Saturday that they are expanding operations against Hamas to additional areas of the Gaza Strip. It was also reported that reports of dozens of deaths in the explosion at the UN school in Gaza were being investigated.
The Israel Defense Forces said they were conducting operations in the Zejtun district of Gaza City and in the city of Jabaliya, which is also in the northern part of the zone. The target of these actions are “terrorists and Hamas infrastructure” – it was emphasized.
Israeli army in the Gaza Strip PAP/EPA/ATEF SAFADI
During the operations in Zejtun and Jabaliya, Israeli troops “encountered terrorists who deliberately operated from civilian areas and attacked soldiers using anti-tank missiles and explosives,” the Israeli army announced. “During these clashes, numerous terrorists were killed and soldiers struck many infrastructure facilities terrorist activities, including underground ones,” the statement said.
Reports of an explosion at a UN school
Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported that the Israeli bombing of the al-Fakhur school in Jabaliya – run by the agency UN and currently serving as a shelter for displaced people – at least 50 people died.
The BBC describes the recording, which it verified was made at school. It shows over 20 seriously injured or motionless people, including women and children, lying on the floor. Half of them are in a room that shows signs of significant damage.
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Israel Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner told the BBC that the army was investigating unconfirmed reports of an explosion at the school. He emphasized that in the Gaza Strip, terrorists are hiding in tunnels and attacking soldiers from hospitals, schools and mosques, using civilian and humanitarian areas.
As the Israeli army reported on Saturday, a total of 56 soldiers have been killed so far in clashes with the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In recent days, eight soldiers have been seriously injured, the Times of Israel reported.
Gaza StripPAP – Ziemienowicz Adam, Maciej Zieliński
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/ATEF SAFADI