JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Air Force launched a precision strike on Hamas militants at a former school compound in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday in a statement.
The statement said that the airstrike, targeting Yaffa School, was carried out with the intelligence direction of the IDF and Israel Security Agency, and that the militants were planning to commit attacks against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip and against Israeli territory in the immediate future.
The statement did not mention the casualties in the operation. However, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that the strike on Yaffa School, described as a shelter for displaced individuals in the Tuffah neighborhood of northeastern Gaza City, resulted in the deaths of two citizens and injuries to several others.
The IDF claimed that the militants were operating inside a command and control center embedded within the school compound, calling Hamas systematically abusing "civilian infrastructure in violation of international law."
According to the statement, the Israeli side has been using precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information for the strike to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has topped 44,000, according to Gaza-based health authorities. ■
