The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated further as the Israeli military bombed another United Nations-run school in northern Gaza on Friday, resulting in the deaths of 3 people. This incident follows a similar airstrike on a school in central Gaza on Thursday, which killed at least 33 individuals.
Overnight on Friday, Israeli airstrikes across central Gaza claimed the lives of 28 people, including children. The strikes targeted the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps, as well as the towns of Deir al-Balah and Zawaiyda. Residents reported that tanks, which had taken control along the borderline with Egypt, made several incursions towards the west and center of the southern city, wounding several individuals, according to Reuters.
Israel-Hamas War: The latest developments
A day after the Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school killed at least 33 people, another strike on a school compound in northern Gaza killed three more on Friday. The Israeli military claimed that Hamas terrorists were operating from within the schools. On Friday, Israel also released the names of 17 terrorists it said were killed in Thursday’s strike.
In addition to the school bombings, 28 people, including children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight across central Gaza. These strikes hit the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps and the towns of Deir al-Balah and Zawaiyda. The Israeli army reported that its troops had killed dozens of terrorists hiding in tunnel shafts and had destroyed infrastructure in the area.
Meanwhile, a drone launched from Lebanon, likely by the Hezbollah terror group, landed in an open area in the Jezreel Valley, near Nazareth, in northern Israel on Friday afternoon, as reported by The Times of Israel. An interceptor missile was launched and sirens sounded in towns adjacent to Nazareth soon after the attack. In response, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Saturday. Troops also shelled several locations with artillery and mortars to “remove threats,” according to the military. The Israel Defense Forces said a siren in the northern community of Matat was triggered by two rockets launched from Lebanon.
In Washington, pro-Palestinian activists plan to surround the White House during a weekend protest, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and American support for Israel. Additional security measures, including anti-scale fencing, have been implemented in preparation for the demonstrations, which are planned for Saturday to mark eight months of Israel’s war in Gaza.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has added Israel’s military to a global list of offenders for committing violations against children in 2023. Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, described the decision as “shameful.” Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will also be listed, according to a diplomatic source. The global list is part of a report on children and armed conflict that Guterres is scheduled to submit to the UN Security Council on June 14.
Jerusalem reacted strongly to the announcement, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating, “The UN has put itself on the blacklist of history today when it joined the supporters of the Hamas murderers. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and no delusional decision by the UN will change that.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to the Middle East next week, as Washington attempts to pressure Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal put forward by President Joe Biden last week. This will be Blinken’s eighth visit to the region since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. He will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar to meet with senior leaders.
The White House has said it is still awaiting an official response from Hamas to the latest hostage deal and ceasefire proposal for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Spokesperson John Kirby indicated that US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the issue during a meeting on Saturday.
Israel is also advancing a pilot program in Gaza that could potentially establish alternative civilian rule in the Gaza Strip to replace Hamas. According to Hebrew media, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently presented the cabinet with a plan for “humanitarian bubbles” to be formed inside the Palestinian enclave. Palestinians with no affiliation to Hamas or other terror groups will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of humanitarian aid within specific neighborhoods.
