U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced renewed ceasefire negotiations in the coming days.
An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 civilians on Thursday, Palestinian medical officials reported on the day U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas would resume.
The strike, which occurred in the crowded Nuseirat refugee camp, left another 42 people wounded, including children.
Most of the casualties were women and children, with hospital records indicating that 13 of the dead were minors.
Nearby Awda Hospital is treating those injured.Israel Claims Militants Inside
Israel’s military claimed Hamas militants were inside the school, which had been repurposed as a shelter for families fleeing the ongoing fighting.
The military has conducted similar strikes on civilian structures in Gaza, asserting that militants use these locations to hide among the population.
However, no evidence was provided to support the claim.Blinked Announces Ceasefire Talks
The strike’s aftermath has prompted renewed international calls for a ceasefire.
Details came in on Thursday while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Qatar, announced that negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages would resume shortly.
„What we really have to determine is whether Hamas is prepared to engage“, Blinken said, emphasizing that Israel had „effectively dismantled“ Hamas through its military campaign.
