Israeli warplanes stage fifth attack in eight days on a Gaza school

Israeli warplanes on Sunday staged a fifth attack in eight days on a Gaza school sheltering war displaced, and residents said more casualties were inflicted.

The latest attack hit a UN-run school in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza.

Schools in Nuseirat were the target for two of the earlier school strikes as Israel keeps up its brutal war on the devastated strip.

The Israeli military claimed its air force "struck a number of terrorists who were operating in the area of UNRWA's Abu Araban school building in Nuseirat".

It alleged the building had "served as a hideout" and base for "attacks" on Israeli troops.

Some wounded, including children, were taken to nearby hospitals, residents said, but neither the health ministry in Gaza, nor hospitals, were able to give a precise toll.

AFPTV images showed the three-storey complex still standing, with clothes and bedding airing out over its railings. A wall bearing the UN logo had been blown out, and rooms inside were damaged.

On 6 July, Israeli aircraft hit Al-Jawni school, also run by the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), in Nuseirat. UNRWA said about 2,000 people were sheltering there at the time.

The following day, four people died in a strike on the church-run Holy Family school in Gaza City, in the territory's north, according to the Civil Defence agency.

On Monday, Israel hit another Nuseirat school, again claiming it was targeting "terrorists".

The next day, a hospital source said at least 29 people died in a strike at the entrance to Al-Awda school in the Khan Younis area, southern Gaza.

Israel claims Hamas uses schools, hospitals, and other public infrastructure for military purposes. Hamas denies the accusation.

France and Germany on Wednesday called for an investigation into the school strikes.

After the Al-Jawni strike, UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma told AFP that when the war began "we closed the schools and they became shelters".

UNRWA is the main relief agency in Gaza but more than half, or 190, of its facilities have been hit – "some more than once" – since the Israeli military offensive started in October, she said.