At least 20 Palestinians killed in Israeli bombings on Gaza City

An injured child is seen at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

GAZA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli bombings targeting two schools sheltering displaced civilians and a house in eastern Gaza City, Palestinian sources said on Thursday.

Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli aircraft carried out strikes on the Al-Karama and Sha'ban Al-Rayes schools, which were serving as shelters for displaced civilians, as well as a residential house in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua that rescue teams and medical workers recovered the bodies of 20 victims from the sites of the bombing.

The casualties included women and children, while around 30 others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were transported to hospitals, Basal said, adding the rescue teams were still searching for missing persons.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Thursday that with the direction of intelligence, the air force conducted a "precise strike" on militants who were operating in command-and-control centers in areas that previously served as the Al-Karama and the Sha'ban schools.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,129, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

An injured child is seen at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

An injured child is seen at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

An injured child is seen at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)