GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least 15 Palestinians, including children, were killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes on schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza City on Thursday, the Civil Defense Agency said.

Israeli warplanes attacked al-Zahraa and Abdel Fattah Hamoud schools in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, witnesses said.

Medical sources said that children were among the victims.

The Israeli army confirmed the attack, claiming that the two schools were used as “hideouts” by Hamas fighters.

However, Hamas rejected the claim and condemned Israel's attack on the schools, asserting that the objective of these "brutal massacres... is to exterminate, displace, and terrorize civilians."

Hamas in a statement also called on the UN and international judicial institutions to "fulfil their responsibilities in the face of these crimes that disgrace humanity and to work on bringing the occupation (Israeli) leaders, who are war criminals, to justice and hold them accountable for their brutal crimes."

Israel has continued a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 39,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala