Israeli strike on Gaza shelter kills 17 as Blinken says cease-fire talks will resume

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Thursday Washington would be providing a further $135 million in aid to the Palestinians. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Doha as part of his tour of the Middle East, Blinken stressed it was critical that aid enters Gaza.

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An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children, Palestinian medical officials said. Another 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. (Production by Wafaa Shurafa)

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A family visits the the memorial marker of their loved one, Bar Lior Nakmuli, at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed or kidnapped by Hamas, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, marking one year in the Hebrew calendar since the attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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A Lebanese man collects belongings from his destroyed apartment that was hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Mansouri village, as it seen from the southern city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)

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Lebanese citizens collect their belongings from their destroyed apartment that was hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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A man prays at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed or kidnapped by Hamas, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, marking one year in the Hebrew calendar since the attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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A woman pauses to touch the memorial marker of her loved one, Bar Lior Nakmuli, at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed or kidnapped by Hamas, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, marking one year in the Hebrew calendar since the attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, unseen, in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

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Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chief of Protocol Ibrahim Fakhroo welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, as he arrives in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

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Jewish revelers dance in a circle during the holiday of Simchat Torah, on the first anniversary on the Jewish calendar of the day Hamas militants attacked Israel, in Jerusalem, Thursday Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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Destroyed buildings at the site that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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A man carries a luggage as he walks on the rubble of destroyed apartments that were hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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Lebanese citizens collect their belongings from their destroyed apartments that were hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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A man in prayer shawl visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed or kidnapped by Hamas, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, marking one year in the Hebrew calendar since the attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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Damaged furnitures left on destroyed apartments that were hit by Israeli airstrikes, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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A woman takes pictures by her mobile phone, as she stands at a destroyed apartment that was hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

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A woman reads a memorial poster at the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed or kidnapped by Hamas, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, marking one year in the Hebrew calendar since the attack, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

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A worker uses a skid steer loader to remove the debris of a building that housed the office of pan-Arab TV channel Al-Mayadeen, which is politically allied with Hezbollah, that was hit Wednesday night by an Israeli airstrike, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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A worker removes the debris of a building that housed the office of pan-Arab TV channel Al-Mayadeen, which is politically allied with Hezbollah, that was hit Wednesday night by an Israeli airstrike, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

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Iranian demonstrators hold posters of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, center, late leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in a battle with Israel, bottom left, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top right, in a ceremony commemorating Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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An Iranian demonstrator holds an anti-Israeli banner in a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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Iranian demonstrators hold posters of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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Iranian demonstrators attend a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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A group of the Iranian demonstrators cover their faces in the Palestinian and Lebanese militants style as one of them holds a poster of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Narallah, right, and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, in a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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A group of the Iranian demonstrators cover their faces in the Palestinian and Lebanese militants style in a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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A group of the Iranian demonstrators cover their faces in the Palestinian and Lebanese militants style as one of them holds a Palestinian flag in a ceremony commemorating the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

By WAFAA SHURAFA, FATMA KHALED and FARNOUSH AMIRI

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.

The strike came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had accomplished its objective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas, and that negotiations over a cease-fire and the release of dozens of Israeli hostages would resume “in the coming days.”

Another 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Among the dead were 13 children under the age of 18 and three women, according to the hospital’s records.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants inside the school, without providing evidence. Israel has carried out strikes on several schools-turned-shelters in recent months, saying it precisely targets militants hiding out among civilians. The strikes often kill women and children.

New talks in Qatar planned

Blinken, speaking to reporters in Qatar, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, said negotiators would return to Doha to renew the talks.

“What we really have to determine is whether Hamas is prepared to engage,” Blinken said on his 11th visit to the region since the start of the war.

Hamas’s political representatives have not so far signaled a softer stance.

“There is no change in our position,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese broadcaster seen as closely aligned with Iran and its allies.

Hamdan said Hamas delegates heard from mediators in Cairo about the potential to revive cease-fire negotiations but reiterated that the group still insists on an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, as well as its complete withdrawal from the territory.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said the head of the Mossad, the country’s spy agency, would travel to Qatar on Sunday to meet with CIA director Bill Burns and the Qatari prime minister.

The United States hoped to revive the negotiations after Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week, but neither side has shown signs of moderating its demands from months of negotiations that sputtered to a halt over the summer.

Blinken also announced an additional $135 million in U.S. aid to the Palestinians, while again urging Israel to allow more assistance to enter the territory.

Supplies run low in northern Gaza

Health workers in besieged northern Gaza meanwhile warned of a catastrophic situation there, where Israel has been waging an air and ground offensive for over two weeks.

Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in northern Gaza in recent days. The military says it is battling Hamas fighters who regrouped in the north, which was one of the first targets of the ground offensive at the start of the war.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyeh, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north, said in a video message released Wednesday that some 150 wounded people were being treated there, including 14 children in intensive care or the neonatal department.

“There is a very large number of wounded people, and we lose at least one person every hour because of the lack of medical supplies and medical staff,” he said.

“Our ambulances can’t transfer wounded people,” he said. “Those who can arrive by themselves to the hospital receive care, but those who don’t just die in the streets.”

Footage shared with The Associated Press shows medical staff tending to premature babies and several older children in hospital beds, some with severe burns. One child is seen attached to a breathing machine, with bandages on her face and flies hovering over her.

“We are providing the bare minimum to patients. Everyone is paying the price of what is happening now in northern Gaza,” Abu Safiyeh said.

Kamal Adwan is one of three hospitals in the north left largely inaccessible because of the fighting. The war has gutted the health system across Gaza, with only 16 of 39 hospitals even partially functioning, according to the World Health Organization.

In another one of the besieged hospitals in Gaza’s northernmost end, the Indonesian Hospital, patients say they’re struggling to stay alive in the face of power outages and shortages of food, water and medical supplies.

“The pain is horrible, but there are no painkillers here, no antibiotics,” said 39-year-old Nidal al-Darini, whose foot, wounded in an Israeli airstrike, has become infected. “It’s becoming unbearable.”

First responders halt operations after saying Israel fired on them

The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said they had suspended operations in the north. They said Israeli forces fired on one of their teams in the town of Beit Lahiya after ordering them to relocate to the Indonesian Hospital, where troops are stationed.

Three Civil Defense members were wounded in the strike, and a firetruck was destroyed, it said. It said another five of its personnel were detained by Israeli forces at the hospital.

“As a result, we declare that Civil Defense operations in the northern Gaza Strip have been completely halted, leaving these areas without any firefighting, rescue, or emergency medical services,” it said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the allegations.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into tent camps along the coast after entire neighborhoods in many areas were pounded to rubble.

Meanwhile the Israeli campaign has expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion over three weeks ago after trading fire with the Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.

Lebanese health officials reported another day of intense airstrikes and shelling Thursday, which they said killed 19 people over the last 24 hours and raised the overall Lebanese death toll to 2,593 since the conflict started in October 2023.

The Israeli military on Thursday announced the deaths of four reservists who were killed the day before in combat in southern Lebanon, making Wednesday one of the deadliest days for Israel in Lebanon since it launched its ground invasion on Sept. 30.

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Amiri reported from Doha, Qatar, and Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed.

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

WAFAA SHURAFA

Senior Test Editor short Biography

CarInsuRent

FARNOUSH AMIRI

Farnoush is a congressional reporter.