CNN
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More than 80 Palestinians were killed throughout Gaza on Thursday as Israel intensified strikes across the strip, health officials said.
The deaths the authorities said include dozens of people seeking assistance, and are coming as negotiations to reach a ceasefire with the enclave rising. Sources told CNN that Hamas officials met on Thursday and were set up to prepare for a response to the latest proposal accepted by Israel.
At the school-turned-house in Gaza City, 15 people have been killed and 25 have been severely burned in Israel’s strike, said Dr. Mohammad Abu Sirmiyah, director of Alsifa Hospital. The hospital is treating the injured in the attack.
“This scene was extremely tragic due to the burnt group of martyrs and children,” said Fares Afana, head of emergency and medical services in northern Gaza, evacuating injured people from the school.
The hospital’s director said 12 more people were killed in other strikes in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it had hit “the major Hamas sterolists who were active at Hamas headquarters and control centres” in Gaza city in response to CNN’s questions about the school strike. Before the attack, Israeli forces said “many steps have been taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including accurate munitions, air surveillance and the use of additional information.”
Earlier this morning, Israeli forces said on past days “attacked about 150 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip, including terrorists, underground routes, military structures, weapons, snipers and additional terror infrastructure sites.” CNN requested comment from Israeli forces on Thursday’s strike.
Images taken at the scene of the Gaza city attack showed flames inside the building and some deadly burning bodies.
“Frequently, the Israelites attacked and bombed the schools, let us escape, and came back when the pressure in Israel was eased. The pressure was intense, as you can see today,” said the woman who didn’t give her name.
In southern Gaza, 35 bodies arrived at Nasser Hospital on Thursday morning, according to a spokesman for Nasser Hospital in Ahmad al-Farah. The deaths include 15 people allegedly killed while awaiting Khan Yunis’ assistance, and 20 people who died on strike at a city camp, the hospital said.
According to the hospital, those seeking assistance were waiting near the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site.
“They said Americans (GHFs) are safe, what does safety look like?” One man, Awad Barbach, said at the funeral of one of the murdered people.
In central Gaza, near the Netzarim corridor, crowds gathered to receive assistance from the truck as chaos continued, witnesses said. According to Abu Sirmiyah, director of Arshifa Hospital, 25 people have been killed in the incident.
“It was a trap… People were stabbing each other for food… (and then Israel) there was an hour and a half of a shootout… We’re not Hamas or Fatah, I’m just a civilian who wants to eat.
“Where are (Hamas)? … They’re all dogs,” he added.
