Israel intensifies strikes on southern Gaza

A school operated by the UN Palestinian refugees agency (UNRWA) sheltering 4,600 people was damaged by a strike in close proximity to the building, the agency said.

The school in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza "sustained severe collateral damage from close proximity strike," the UNRWA said on social media.

The incident comes amid reports of intensified Israeli strikes on southern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been urging residents of the besieged strip to evacuate southward for weeks.

More than 6,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict with Hamas' terror attacks on Israel on October 7, according to estimates provided by the Hamas-run health ministry on Wednesday. The numbers cannot be independently verified.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) insist they only target Hamas installations, and say the militant group installs itself among civilian infrastructure.

The IDF said on Wednesday it struck Hamas infrastructure, "including terror tunnel shafts, military headquarters, weapons warehouses, mortar launchers and anti-tank missile launchers." The IDF added that it also struck Hamas installations it claimed were set up as "blockades that prevented Gazans from evacuating to safer areas in the southern Gaza Strip."