Amid growing tensions in the Middle East, an Israeli airstrike on Rafida School in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, killed at least 28 people and injured 54, according to the Palestine Red Crescent. The Israeli military on Thursday reported that it had targeted a Hamas command centre in the same area.

The Israeli army stated that its airstrike targeted Palestinian combatants operating from a command-and-control centre within a former school compound. The centre was allegedly used to plan attacks against Israeli troops.

No casualty figure was provided by the army, but the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported that eight women and a child were among those killed, with several others wounded in the strike.

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The Israeli military stated that it took precautions to minimise civilian harm and accused Hamas of exploiting civilian infrastructure, a charge Hamas has previously denied.

Schools Serving As Shelters For Displaced Palestinians 

Gaza's health ministry, run by Hamas, confirmed the death toll of 28 and condemned the strike as a "new massacre" by Israel. Many schools in Gaza have been converted into shelters for the 1.9 million Palestinians displaced since the war began a year ago.

Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, expressed concern that the lives of eight critically injured children in the ICU, dependent on oxygen, would be in danger if evacuation became necessary. 

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He also noted that the hospital was running low on fuel, which Israel has not allowed to be delivered to northern Gaza. "These children have shrapnel injuries throughout their bodies, including their upper parts and brain. They are all in critical condition and are connected to oxygen systems," Abu Safiya said in a video message to the media.