DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.
The strike came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a diplomatic tour of the region, said Israel had accomplished its objective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas, and that negotiations over a cease-fire and the release of dozens of Israeli hostages would resume “in the coming days.”
Another 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Among the dead were 13 children under the age of 18 and three women, according to the hospital’s records.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants inside the school, without providing evidence. Israel has carried out strikes on several schools-turned-shelters in recent months, saying it precisely targets militants hiding out among civilians.
Mr. Blinken, speaking to reporters in Qatar, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, said negotiators would soon return to Doha to renew the long-stalled talks even as it remained uncertain whether the Palestinian militant group was willing or even able to re-enter talks.
“What we really have to determine is whether Hamas is prepared to engage,” Mr. Blinken said on his 11th visit to the region since the start of the war.
PHOTOS: Israeli strike on Gaza shelter kills 17 as Blinken says cease-fire talks will resume
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the head of the Mossad, the country’s spy agency, would head to Qatar on Sunday for the new round of in-person talks with the CIA Director Bill Burns — the Biden administration’s point man in the talks — and Qatari officials.
The United States has hoped to revive the negotiations since Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week, but neither side has shown signs of moderating its demands from months of negotiations that sputtered to a halt over the summer.
Mr. Blinken also announced an additional $135 million in U.S. aid to the Palestinians, while again urging Israel to allow more assistance to enter the territory.
Health workers in besieged northern Gaza meanwhile warned of a catastrophic situation there, where Israel has been waging an air and ground offensive for more than two weeks.
Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in northern Gaza in recent days. The military says it is battling Hamas fighters who regrouped in the north, which was one of the first targets of the ground offensive at the start of the war.
Meanwhile the Israeli campaign has expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion over three weeks ago after trading fire with the Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.
Lebanese health officials reported another day of intense airstrikes and shelling Thursday, which they said killed 19 people over the last 24 hours and raised the overall Lebanese death toll to 2,593 since the conflict started in October 2023.
In Paris Thursday, an international conference for Lebanon raised $1 billion in pledges for humanitarian aid and military support to help the country, French organizers said.
French President Emmanuel Macron had called on participants to bring “massive aid” to support the country, as France promised $100 million. The United States pledged to provide about $300 million, French officials said.
Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the international community to take action.
“The devastating impact of this war on our nation cannot be overstated, and it has left a trail of destruction and misery in its wake. The Israelis’ aggression has not only caused immense human suffering and loss of lives, but also inflicted severe damage to the country’s infrastructure, economy and social fabric,” Mr. Mikati said Thursday in Paris.
The United Nations had previously estimated the urgent humanitarian needs in Lebanon to be $426 million.
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