At least 25 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on school in South Gaza: sources

GAZA - At least 25 Palestinians were killed and some others wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said Tuesday.

Security sources told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft targeted the gate of the Al-Awda School, which houses hundreds of displaced people in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis, using at least one missile.

The videos shared by Palestinian activists on the social media platform Facebook showed dozens of bodies lying on the ground, covered in blood.

Medical sources said the Israeli airstrike killed at least 25 people, including women and children, and wounded dozens in varying degrees.

The sources told Xinhua that the number of victims is expected to rise due to the overcrowding in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that using precise munition, the Israeli Air Force struck a terrorist from Hamas' military wing who took part in the Hamas rampage in southern Israel last year, among other terrorist activities.

The IDF is looking into the reports that civilians were harmed, adjacent to the Al-Awda School, which is located near the location of the strike, it added.

Israel has been launching 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 more than 200 were taken hostage.

The Hamas-run health authorities said on Tuesday the total Palestinian death toll in Gaza has climbed to 38,243 since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.