Israel-Hamas war: At least 20 killed at school being used as shelter in Gaza, UN says

The UN says a school being used as a shelter has been damaged at the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza, leaving 20 people reportedly dead.

Five people are understood to have also been injured at the camp.

Sky News has verified footage showing many injured people at the school, but has been unable to identify the cause. We are awaiting a response from the Israeli military.

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The footage shows panic break out at the site, with some running from the scene.

One man is seen holding his hands behind his head, while a woman is spotted frantically looking around before holding a hand to her cheek, visibly shocked.

Another individual is seen limping towards a wall with the help of another person.

The sound of an ambulance siren joins shouts from the crowd, as the vehicle is briefly seen entering the gates to the school.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it came “after two days of heavy bombardments in the area.”

“Earlier today, another shelter at Beach Refugee Camp was also damaged, with one child reportedly killed. Both locations are in the north of the Gaza Strip,” it added.

“Further south, two schools-turned-shelters in the Al Bureij Refugee Camp were hit. Two people were reportedly killed and 31 injured.”

The UN reported that since 7 October, nearly 50 UNRWA buildings and assets have been impacted, with some being directly hit.

This includes buildings being used as shelters that are currently hosting around 700,000 people, the UNRWA said in a statement.

“Across the Gaza Strip, these shelters should be a safe haven, under the flag of the United Nations. International humanitarian law leaves no doubt that civilians and civilian facilities must be protected,” it said.

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“To date, 72 UNRWA colleagues have been killed in Gaza since the war began, often with their families.

“How many more? How much more grief and suffering? A humanitarian ceasefire is overdue for the sake of humanity.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) earlier justified attacks on buildings such as hospitals, schools and mosques in Gaza by claiming Hamas uses the sites for operational purposes.

IDF posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on 27 October which asked: “Where are Hamas’s headquarters? Are they under a school? A university? A mosque? A hospital?

It then claims the answer is “all of the above”.

The footage of the damage caused to the UN school also emerged after 15 people were killed when Israel struck the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Thursday.

Residents said dozens of people remained trapped under the rubble, with the blast creating a large crater and severely damaging buildings around the camp.

It came days after dozens were killed when Israel carried out a strike on a refugee camp in Jabalia, north of Gaza City.

Israel said it killed Ibrahim Biari, commander of Hamas’s Central Jabaliya Battalion, in the strike.

Biari was one of the leaders of the massacres in Israel on 7 October and had also been the “main leader” of Hamas’s combat operations since Israeli forces entered Gaza, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.