IDF says 'eliminated' terrorists hiding in UNRWA school in Gaza; Hamas claims 27 killed in Israeli 'massacre'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday said that it has carried out a precise strike on a compound used by the Hamas terror group inside an UNRWA school in central Gaza, with the Hamas-run government media office claiming at least 27 people were killed in what it termed the Israeli “massacre.”

לפני זמן קצר, מטוסי קרב תקפו בהכוונת כוחות אוגדה 99, אגף המודיעין ושב״כ מתחם ששימש את ארגון הטרור חמאס הממוקם בתוך בית ספר של אונר״א במרחב נוציראת.

במתחם שהו מחבלי חמאס וגא״פ אשר השתייכו לכוחות הנחב׳ה ולקחו חלק בטבח הרצחני ביישובי העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר>> pic.twitter.com/9IrXYw34qq

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 6, 2024

“A short while ago, fighter jets… conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside an UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat,” a Times of Israel report quoted the army as saying in a statement, adding that several terrorists were “eliminated.”

The IDF claimed that the compound was used by members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force who took part in the terror group’s 7 October massacre in Israel, in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

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The army said that the terrorists, in collaboration with individuals from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad extremist organisation, “orchestrated acts of terror from the vicinity of the school, using it both as a civilian cover and as a refuge.”

The statement added that extensive precautions were taken to reduce harm to civilians.

“The strike eliminated terrorists who had planned to carry out terror attacks and advance imminent terror schemes against our forces,” the IDF was quoted as saying, adding that “many steps were taken before the strike to minimise the risk of harm to uninvolved people” — including analysing aerial footage and using precise intelligence.

The IDF also released an aerial photo showing where in the compound the terrorists had allegedly been staying.

Gaza’s bloodiest ever war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.

Israel’s ensuing bombardment and ground offensive have killed at least 36,586 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Israel has faced growing diplomatic isolation over its conduct of the war, with cases against it before two international courts, and several European governments recognising a Palestinian state.

Israel has frequently accused Hamas and its allies in Gaza of using schools, health facilities and other civilian infrastructure as operational centres – charges the militants deny.

UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has been in crisis since January, when Israel accused about a dozen of its 13,000 employees in the territory of being involved in the October 7 attack.

Its chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said last week that Israel “must stop its campaign against UNRWA” in an opinion article published by the New York Times.

The latest strike came as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators resumed talks Wednesday to try to secure a truce and hostage release deal.

US President Joe Biden last week outlined what he called a three-phase Israeli plan to halt the fighting for six weeks while hostages held by militants in Gaza are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and aid is stepped up.

G7 powers and Arab states have backed the proposal announced by Biden, although sticking points remain - Hamas insists on a permanent truce and full Israeli withdrawal, demands that Israel has flatly rejected.

With inputs from agencies