Israeli airstrike on Gaza school kills 27

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday (3 April), including 27 or more people taking shelter in a school, according to Palestinian health officials.

The intensified offensive is part of what Israel's military says is an effort to pressure Hamas and ultimately expel the group.

Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi reported that the bodies of 14 children and five women were retrieved from the school in Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood. He added that the death toll may climb, as several of the 70 injured are in critical condition. Another 30-plus residents were reportedly killed in airstrikes on homes in the adjacent Shijaiyah area, based on Ahli Hospital records.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a "Hamas command and control centre" in Gaza City and claimed it took precautions to minimise civilian harm. This justification — striking Hamas fighters — was also cited for a previous attack on a United Nations shelter, which killed at least 17 people.

Hamas denounced the school bombing as a "heinous massacre" of civilians.

As the strikes continued, Israel's military ordered further evacuations from parts of northern Gaza, instructing residents to move west or south to shelters. Many fled on foot — some carrying possessions on their backs, others using donkey carts.

"My wife and I have been walking for three hours and covered only a kilometre," said 72-year-old Mohammad Ermana, walking with a cane alongside his wife. "Now, I'm searching for a new shelter every hour, not every day."

Israel has issued broad evacuation orders in anticipation of ground operations. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month.

These latest evacuation directives followed statements from Israeli officials that they plan to seize large areas of Gaza and create a new security corridor. To pressure Hamas, Israel has enforced a month-long blockade on food, fuel, and aid — a measure human rights groups have condemned as a war crime.

Hamas has stated it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has rejected demands to disarm or leave the territory.

Another Deadly Day in Gaza

Israeli air raids overnight killed at least 55 people in Gaza, hospital sources reported Thursday.

In Khan Younis, the bodies of 14 individuals, including five children and four women, were brought to Nasser Hospital — nine from the same family. The European Hospital near the city received the bodies of another 19, including five children aged 1 to 7 and a pregnant woman. In Gaza City, 21 more bodies, including those of seven children, were taken to Ahli Hospital.

Later in the day, four additional people were killed in Khan Younis, with their bodies also taken to Nasser Hospital. Two more people were killed in central Gaza and taken to Al Aqsa Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it would launch an independent investigation into a March 23 operation in which its forces fired on ambulances in southern Gaza. According to U.N. officials, 15 medics and emergency workers were killed, and their bodies, along with the ambulances, were buried by Israeli troops in a mass grave.

Initially, the Israeli military claimed the ambulances were acting suspiciously and that nine fighters had been killed. The military stated that a special fact-finding team would lead the investigation. However, rights groups argue that such inquiries rarely lead to accountability.

Younes Al-Khatib, head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that some of the medics may have still been alive when Israeli forces overtook them. He said the group's radio operators overheard a Hebrew-language conversation between Israeli soldiers and the medics after the ambulances were attacked.

Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour submitted a video to the Security Council that he claims depicts the moments leading up to the killing of 15 humanitarian workers in Gaza. He said the footage, allegedly recovered from the body of one of the victims, shows emergency vehicles travelling at night with lights on — clearly signalling to Israeli forces. Nevertheless, Mansour said the Israeli army ambushed the convoy.

Israel's Gaza Strategy

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to create a security corridor across Gaza to increase pressure on Hamas. This move would isolate the southern city of Rafah — currently under evacuation orders — from the rest of the enclave.

Israel has also reinforced control of the Netzarim corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the rest of the territory. This and another corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt stretch from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean.

Netanyahu also said on Sunday that Israel intends to retain overall security control of Gaza following the war, and he endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians — a suggestion viewed by Palestinians as forced expulsion and condemned by human rights experts as likely breaching international law.

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel claims to have killed about 20,000 fighters, though it has not provided verification.

Much of Gaza now lies in ruins, with nearly 90% of the population displaced at the peak of the war.

The conflict began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking 251 hostages. Most hostages have since been freed in ceasefire deals and other agreements. Israel has rescued eight hostages alive and recovered many bodies.

Netanyahu Travels Despite ICC Warrant

Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday — his second overseas visit since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him in November over Israel's actions in Gaza.

The ICC, based in The Hague, stated there is reason to believe that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant used starvation as a method of war and deliberately targeted civilians — charges both deny.

Although Hungary is an ICC member and technically obliged to arrest those under warrant, the court has no enforcement mechanism and depends on states' cooperation. Hungary announced plans to initiate withdrawal from the ICC as Netanyahu landed in Budapest.

Strike in Lebanon

At least two people were killed early Friday in a suspected Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon. An AP photographer saw emergency crews carry two bodies from the building.

The Israeli military has yet to comment. It marks the first strike in Sidon since a ceasefire halted the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in late November. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out airstrikes against targets it claims belong to Hezbollah and allied groups.