AN ISRAELI STRIKE on a school in Gaza being used as a shelter  has killed twelve people, the territory’s health ministry has said.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the agency, said that thousands of Palestinians had sought refuge in the school amid the ongoing war.

The Israeli military said that the school was housing a Hamas command-and-control centre, and that they carried out a “precise strike on terrorists who were operating” there.

Hamas has strenously denied that they were conducting any operations from the school.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has struck several schools across Gaza, primarily in Gaza City, accusing them of housing Hamas command centres, which the group denies.

Earlier this month, the military struck the Al-Tabieen School in Gaza City, killing 93 Palestinians. The IDF said that 31 of these were militants.

Talks are ongoing to negotiate a ceasefire to the ten month conflict.

United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has traveled to Egypt today for the latest round of talks. He said that Israel have accepted a “bridging proposal” from the US, and has urged Hamas to do the same.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken said that “this is a decisive moment. It’s probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security”.

However, Hamas has called for the framework put forward by US President Joe Biden in May to be implemented. This would involve an initial six week ceasefire while Israeli hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid can enter Gaza.

Months of on-off negotiations with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to produce an agreement.

Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for delays in reaching an accord that diplomats say would help avert a wider conflagration in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

With reporting from © AFP 2024.