Forty-two other people were injured in the strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Awda hospital, which received the victims.
The Israeli army did not immediately react.
Israel has carried out several strikes on schools-turned-shelters in recent months, saying they specifically targeted Hamas militants hiding among civilians. The strikes often kill women and children.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 250 others. Around a hundred hostages are still in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to have died.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not specify how many of the victims were fighters. The ministry maintains that women and children represent more than half of the victims. The Israeli army claims to have killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into tent camps along the coast, as entire neighborhoods in many areas have been reduced to rubble.
Months of ceasefire negotiations sponsored by the United States, Egypt and Qatar were disrupted over the summer.
The war has meanwhile spread to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion more than three weeks ago after trading fire with Hezbollah, another militant group, for much of the past year.
Belgium
