The Latest | Over 30 dead in Israeli strikes overnight in Gaza, including on a school-turned-shelter

Dozens dead after an Israeli strike hit a school converted into a shelter in Gaza overnight. Israel claimed on Thursday that the school was being used as a Hamas compound, without providing evidence.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received at least 30 bodies from the attack on the school run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (known by the acronym UNRWA) and another six from a separate attack to a house.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has launched an intense campaign to persuade Hamas and Israel to accept a new ceasefire and release of hostages proposal, which has raised hopes of ending the war.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Healththat does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The eight-month war in Gaza has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to the Palestinians who face widespread hunger. United Nations agencies say more than a million people in Gaza could experience the highest level of hunger in mid-July.

Israel launched the war after Hamas attack on October 7in which militants swept into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250. Around 80 hostages captured on October 7 are believed to still be alive in Gaza, along with the remains of another 43.

At the moment:

— Israeli attack on a Gaza school which the army says was being used by Hamas kills 30 people.

— Human rights group accuses Israel of Hitting residential buildings with white phosphorus. in Lebanon.

— One image, millions of eyes: a social network effort to draw attention to Rafah surges.

—Israeli settlers in the West Bank were hit with international sanctions. She only emboldened them.

—Yemen Houthi rebels present solid fuel “Palestina” missile which looks like the Iranian hypersonic.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here’s the latest:

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – An Israeli attack early Thursday on a school-turned-shelter in central Gaza that the military said was being used as a Hamas compound, killed at least 30 people, including five children, according to local health officials.

The attack came after the military said it was launching new air and ground operations in central Gaza in an apparent expansion of its offensive of almost eight months, released after the Hamas attack on October 7. An international medical charity had reported soaring casualties even before Thursday’s attack.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received at least 30 bodies from the attack on the school run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees – known by the acronym UNRWA – and another six from a separate attack to a home, according to hospital records and an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Hamas-run television had earlier reported a higher death toll.

The Israeli military claimed, without immediately offering evidence, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad used the school as cover for their operations and that measures were taken to reduce the risk before the attack.

The war began with the October 7 Hamas attack inside Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. The Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 36,000 Palestinians, and hundreds more have died in operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unveiled a new solid-fuel missile in their arsenal that resembles aspects of one previously displayed by Iran and that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds.

The rebels on Monday fired their new “Palestine” missile, with a warhead painted like a checkered Palestinian keffiyeh, at the port of Eilat in Israel’s southern Gulf of Aqaba. The attack set off air raid sirens, but no damage or injuries were reported.

Footage released by the Houthis on Wednesday night showed the Palestine being lifted on what appeared to be a mobile launcher and rising rapidly into the air with plumes of white smoke billowing from its engine. White smoke is common in solid fuel missiles.

Solid-fuel missiles can be installed and fired faster than those containing liquid fuel. This is a key concern for the Houthis, as their missile launch sites have been repeatedly attacked by US and allied forces in recent months. Rebel attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.. One of those attacks hit the Houthis before they could even launch their missile.