Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza intensified, targeting schools, shelters, hospital areas and ambulances. At least 15 were killed in a strike on a school in Jabalia refugee camp, health ministry says.
An attack on an ambulance convoy in Gaza City on Friday killed at least 15 people, according to health officials. Israel confirmed that it hit an ambulance, but said that Hamas fighters had been the target, without providing evidence.
‘Where do we go?’
We have more accounts from inside the al-Fakhoora school in Jabalia refugee camp.
A verified Instagram video shows a displaced person in the aftermath of the attack.
“Where do we go?” he cries, saying that nowhere is safe for residents in Gaza, whether they are sheltering in sites for displaced people or they decide to move.
Struggling to contain his pain, he also calls on Arab countries and the UN to stop the war on Gaza.
Mostly women and children killed in Israeli school attack: Health ministry
In his latest update from Gaza, Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra says at least 15 were killed and 54 wounded in the Israeli bombing of al-Fakhoora School.
Most of the victims were women and children sitting in the schoolyard who were torn into pieces; their bones and flesh were collected in plastic bags, he said.
At least 231 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours alone, al-Qudra said.
This brings the overall death toll since October 7 to 9,488 Palestinians, including 3,900 children.
Residents in northern Gaza might not have enough time or means of transportation to be able to move south after Israeli authorities announced a short window of time for them to evacuate through Salah al-Din Street, says an Al Jazeera correspondent.
“Even though the Israeli army has advised to evacuate, the reality is that it’s incredibly difficult and dangerous for many to do so,” said Sara Khairat, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem.
“Many people might have not received that message and many might not be able to move to start in less than 30 minutes, especially when not everybody has access to transportation,” she added.
Earlier, the military said the main road will be open for people to move from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip from 11:00 GMT and 14:00 GMT today.
‘This is not life’
Hanaa Ribhi is one of the more than one million Palestinians displaced in Gaza due to Israel’s relentless bombardment.
She managed to escape from her home in Jabalia refugee camp – but her ordeal isn’t over. Now sheltering in Khan Younis, she struggles daily to find electricity which she needs to treat a chronic illness.
This is her story:
“I used to live in Jabalia refugee camp, north of the Gaza Strip. We were warned by the Israeli occupation forces that the entire quarter would be destroyed. We ran for our lives leaving behind all our possessions. The moment we left the house, it was hit with a missile; the entire quarter was levelled to the ground. We kept moving from one place to another. Finally, we came to this camp.
“Life conditions are very harsh. I am sick with asthma, lung fibrosis, thyroid and blood pressure. Living in a tent will make it worse; it is very damp. I am coughing all the time; cannot sleep. I cannot breathe; I am living on this device.
“This is not life.
“We need to lead stable dignified life like any other human being; we need hope. Arab countries must do something; almost every couple of years a war is waged on us. This cannot go on forever; no security; no hope. We are living in fear and horror.
“This is not life; it is humiliation.”
Erdogan says Netanyahu ‘no longer someone we can talk to’
The Turkish president says he is breaking off contact with the Israeli prime minister due to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off,” Turkish media quoted Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
Renewed fire exchanges at Lebanon-Israel border
Another round of fire exchanges has taken place at the Israel-Lebanon border, with the Israeli army saying it attacked Hezbollah targets.
A number of rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards areas close to Israel’s northern border, the army said, adding that it responded by attacking the source of the fire.
In a separate message, the army said it attacked two small Hezbollah units and one of the group’s observation posts.
‘The room only had children and women’: School attack survivor
Gaza residents have spoken to Al Jazeera from inside al-Fakhoora School where an Israeli attack has killed at least 12 people, according to health officials.
“We were bombed inside the school. The children were with us. They did not eat until they were bombed,” a witness said.
Thousands of displaced people have been sheltering inside the school in Jabalia refugee camp, in Gaza’s north.
“Four people from our family were killed and injured. We have nothing to do with anything related to the Hamas movement. The room only had children and women,” another witness said, while crying.
Israel reacts to Honduras recalling ambassador
The Israeli foreign ministry has criticised the Honduran government’s decision to recall its ambassador, saying the move ignores Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.
“We expect the Honduran government to condemn Hamas, support Israel’s right to defend itself, and not make decisions that support Hamas’ terrorism,” the ministry said.
Honduran President Xiomara Castra said she took the decision due to “the grave humanitarian situation the Palestinian civilian population suffers in the Gaza Strip”.
Her move came after Chile and Colombia also recalled their diplomats for consultations over the conflict, while Bolivia severed ties with Israel.
Oman calls for war crimes investigation into Israel
Oman’s foreign ministry has demanded the formation of an international court to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
In a statement, the ministry also called for “the prosecution of war criminals in all the massacres committed”.
It also condemned the latest attacks on two schools sheltering civilians, the entrance of a hospital and a public water tank that were all targeted in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli army has just said that residents of the northern Gaza Strip will be allowed to use Salah al-Din Street, the main road in Gaza, to evacuate south between 11:00 GMT and 14:00 GMT today.
In recent weeks, witnesses and residents have repeatedly reported Israeli attacks against civilian vehicles and convoys heading south after similar statements by the Israeli army.
At least 12 people killed in Israeli bombing of UN school: Health Ministry
The Ministry of Health in Gaza says at least 12 people have been killed in the Israeli bombing of the al-Fakhoora school, which had been sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp.
The director of al-Shifa Hospital has reported at least 15 people were killed in the attack with dozens injured.
“The number [of people killed] is expected to rise,” Muhammad Abu Silmeyeh was quoted as saying by Reuters.
US public opinion is changing, but not quickly enough: Analyst
US public opinion towards President Joe Biden’s administration’s unwavering support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza is slowly changing, says Sultan Barakat, director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies.
However, that might not be enough to influence US policy, or quickly enough to limit civilian casualties, he told Al Jazeera.
“Timing is very important for the US and they are trying to give Netanyahu as much time as possible to try and finish Hamas,” Barakat said.
“And for that, they will try and delay the introduction of any humanitarian pause,” he said.
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