Tel Aviv, Israel

At least 50 were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Fakhoora School, operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Saturday (Nov 18). 

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The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed a death toll of at least 50 people as a result of the bombing, with the incident occurring in the early hours of Saturday.

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, UN-run schools in the refugee camps have become a place of shelter for many escaping the relentless humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of individuals are seeking shelter at these places while Israel entered offensive mode to eliminate the Hamas Islamist group.

Reports suggest that there is a scene of widespread casualties at the refugee camp, with medical teams working to evacuate the wounded.

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Expressing condemnation, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, decried the strikes on UN-run schools in Gaza.

Lazzarini spoke of the severity of the situation, stating that he had witnessed "horrifying images and footage of scores of people killed and injured" in one of the agency's schools that had been providing shelter for thousands of displaced individuals.

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Lazzarini took to X, formerly Twitter, to assert, "These attacks cannot become commonplace; they must stop."

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80 killed in dual Israeli strikes: Hamas-run health ministry

According to an official from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, the death toll rose to over 80 people on Saturday due to dual Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp.

The UN-run Al-Fakhura school, converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians, witnessed at least 50 fatalities in the dawn strike, as reported by the official to AFP.

In a separate strike on another building in the camp, 32 individuals from the same family were killed, including 19 children, claimed the health ministry.

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The ministry released a list of the 32 members of the Abu Habal family. Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in Gaza, has seen over 1.6 million people displaced during more than six weeks of intense conflict between Israel and Hamas.

As the devastating consequences of these attacks continue to trickle, many are holding pro-Palestine protests calling for a ceasefire as the urgent step towards resolution to the ongoing crisis in the region.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.