The Israeli strike at a school in Gaza killed 11, the Ministry of Health said

At least 11 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in northern Gaza that is being used as a shelter for displaced families, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

Women and children were among the dead brought to hospitals following the attack on the al-Faluja school in the refugee camp in the town of Jabalia, according to the ministry.

Israel’s military said the “direct” strike targeted a “command and control center” used by Hamas fighters – something the militant group has previously denied.

The Hamas-run security agency said thousands of Palestinians had fled and lived there, with the death toll at 15.

Meanwhile, local doctors told Reuters that at least 14 people had died.

Another resident, Rami Abdul Nabi, said the school was hit by two missiles and that it sounded “like an earthquake” as it exploded.

“This should be… a place for those who have been evicted to find a place to live, people who have no means left,” he told Reuters. “It was a shocking massacre.”

Many schools have been turned into shelters for the 1.9 million Palestinians who have fled their homes since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas almost a year ago.

However, at least 61% of schools have been directly hit during the conflict and another 24% have been damaged, according to a satellite analysis by the UN and its partners.

Three other schools in northern and central Gaza were hit by Israeli airstrikes between last Saturday and Monday, reportedly killing at least 32 people.

As with Thursday’s strike on the Jabalia camp, the Israeli military said it had targeted Hamas facilities and taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians.

It also accused Hamas of systematically violating international law by operating inside civilian infrastructure.

The Israeli military launched an operation to destroy Hamas following the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured.

More than 41,150 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry in the area.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – a rival of Hamas based in the West Bank – called on world leaders to end the war.

“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop killing people. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness will not continue,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized the speech, saying that Abbas “never once mentioned the word ‘Hamas'”.

“Since the October 7 massacre, Abbas has failed to condemn Hamas for their crimes against humanity,” he added.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to negotiate an end to the war and the release of hostages, which they also see as the key to reducing tensions between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. However, US officials have acknowledged that talks have stalled in recent weeks.