Israeli shelling and artillery fire in Gaza Strip
Israel shelled the Gaza Strip on Monday, continuing its military offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, after twin attacks on a displaced persons camp and a school left more than 100 people dead in recent days.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, denounced Israeli "massacres" against "unarmed civilians" in Gaza and announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from indirect ceasefire negotiations.
Witnesses and rescuers on Monday reported artillery fire in several neighbourhoods of Gaza City in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory.
Shelling was also reported in al-Maghazi camp in the centre, leaving five people dead, including three children, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
In Nuseirat, in the same area, there was artillery fire, according to witnesses.
At least 15 people were killed on Sunday at a school run by the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) in the town, which housed "thousands of displaced people", according to the Civil Defence.
It was the fifth school bombed in eight days in the Gaza Strip.
Israel says Hamas and other groups use schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure for military purposes.
The Islamist group, described as a "terrorist" organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union, denies these allegations.
In the south of the territory, witnesses reported helicopter gunfire around Khan Younis and Rafah.
Negotiations paused
The army announced that it had eliminated "a terrorist cell armed with rocket launchers" during fighting in Rafah the previous day. It also eliminated "numerous terrorists" in the centre of the territory, it added.
Israeli shelling killed 92 Palestinians in the al-Mawasi displaced persons camp near Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Saturday, Hamas said. Several months ago Israel had declared the sector a "humanitarian zone" where displaced people could seek refuge.
Israel said the attack targeted two senior Hamas leaders, Mohamed Deif, its military chief, and Rafa Salama, a Hamas commander in Khan Younis. Both were portrayed as "two masterminds of the 7 October massacre" that triggered the war.
The army announced that Salama was killed in the bombing. Deif, however, is alive, a senior Hamas official said.
The conflict erupted when Islamist commandos killed 1,195 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 in southern Israel in October, according to a tally based on official Israeli data.
The Israeli army estimates that 116 people remain captive in Gaza, 42 of them reportedly dead.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has already killed 38,584 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas government's health ministry.
After months of unsuccessful negotiations, the Islamist group announced on Sunday that it had withdrawn from truce talks led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
However, the movement "is ready to resume negotiations" when Israel "shows seriousness in concluding a ceasefire agreement" and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, a Hamas official said.