At least eight people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school run by Palestinian refugees in northern Gaza, as Israel sent several officials to negotiate a ceasefire.
An Israeli attack on Saturday took place at the Zainab al-Wazir school in northern Gaza's Jabalia al-Balad, killing eight civilians, including two women and two children, according to the Palestinian Authority for Emergency Management.
“The Israelis targeted us without warning,” a woman told Al Jazeera, as she searched through the debris. “They attacked us with a missile. I don't know where our children are. I know nothing about them, whether they have been wounded or killed.
Al Jazeera's Moath al-Kahlout described what happened at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, where many wounded people were taken, as “bloody” and “sad”, noting the lack of medical equipment in the siege by Israel in northern Gaza, where. it has been going on for more than 80 days.
Later on Saturday, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that there had been incidents in various places across Gaza, including an attack on a house in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, which killed four Palestinians and wounded several others.
Israeli warplanes also bombed the tents of families who fled their homes in Deir el-Balah, which is in the center of the city, killing three people, Wafa said.
Additional strikes reportedly killed one near the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, and another in the southern town of Khan Younis.
The attack came as Egypt, Qatar and the United States tried again to reach an agreement to stop fighting in Gaza and to exchange remaining Israeli prisoners for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
'Tough stickers points'
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who traveled to Qatar earlier in the week.
Witkoff assured the Egyptian and Qatari officials that the US will continue to work to end the war as soon as possible, said Egyptian security sources cited by the Reuters news agency.
After the meeting, Netanyahu sent a high-ranking delegation, including the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, to Qatar to “advance” the talks, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.
“There are a lot of moving parts here,” Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut said in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
“Donald Trump has said that he will be aggressive in trying to end the war if it doesn't happen before he takes office… But you have to remember that there are strong points on both sides,” he said.
“The Israelis say they will not end the war, and Hamas says they want to see an end to the war and the withdrawal of the Israeli army.
“And you also have the people of Israel, who are always against Benjamin Netanyahu, against the government of Israel, saying that they can't or don't want to make an agreement fifteen months into the war,” he said.
The families of Israeli hostages welcomed Netanyahu's decision to send officials, with the headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum describing it as “a historic opportunity”.
'It is impossible to live'
As mediators prepare for more talks to end the war, Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary said Palestinians under attack in Gaza are also struggling with starvation, while Israel continues to ignore United Nations demands to lift restrictions on access to the Strip.
“We see children with empty pots every day looking for community kitchens, talking to families saying they cannot feed their children one meal a day,” said Khoudary, referring to Deir el-Balah.
“It is not the constant air strikes, but also malnutrition that is killing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Vibe Klarup, head of Amnesty Denmark, said Israel was committing “genocide”.
“When we say that Israel is committing genocide, it is not an opinion, it is a conclusion on the basis of a legal analysis,” he told a conference of the European Palestinian Network in Copenhagen.
“It is becoming more and more impossible to survive in the Gaza Strip… Our responsibility as a people is to stop the killing,” he added.
At least 46,537 people have been killed in Israel's war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian health officials.