Israeli warplanes have hit a central Gaza UN school sheltering displaced Palestinians killing dozens of civilians including children.

An Israeli strike targeted a UN-run school sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the besieged Palestinian territory on Thursday, killing at least 30 people, including five children.

According to Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the government media office in Gaza, the death toll is expected to rise due to the large number of serious and critical injuries.

The deadly strike, which also wounded dozens more, came on the heels of Israel’s fresh air and ground aggression in central Gaza amid rising casualties.

In a statement following the school carnage, the Israeli military confirmed that its warplanes had hit a school of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the area, claiming that the compound was a safe haven for fighters of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

However, al-Thawabta strongly rejected the allegation, saying, “The occupation uses lying to the public opinion through false fabricated stories to justify the brutal crime it conducted against dozens of displaced people.”

UNRWA is the primary source of humanitarian aid not only to Gaza but also to Palestinian refugees throughout the region.

Israel’s bloody war machine has killed over 36,500 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The vast majority of the fatalities are women and children.

The savage campaign was launched after Hamas carried out its historic Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities.