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Israeli Airstrikes Hit UN School and Homes in Gaza, Killing at Least 34 People, Hospitals Say

Palestinians walk in the courtyard of a school after an Israeli air strike hit the site, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.(AFP)
Palestinians walk in the courtyard of a school after an Israeli air strike hit the site, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.(AFP)
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Israeli Airstrikes Hit UN School and Homes in Gaza, Killing at Least 34 People, Hospitals Say

Palestinians walk in the courtyard of a school after an Israeli air strike hit the site, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.(AFP)
Palestinians walk in the courtyard of a school after an Israeli air strike hit the site, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.(AFP)

Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight and Wednesday hit a UN school sheltering displaced Palestinian families as well as two homes, killing at least 34 people, including 19 women and children, hospital officials said.

The deadliest strike came Wednesday afternoon, targeting the UN’s Al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

At least 14 dead from the strike, including two children and a woman, were brought to Awda and al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals nearby, officials from the facilities said. At least 18 people were wounded in the strike, they said.

One of the children killed was the daughter of Momin Selmi, a member of Gaza’s civil defense agency, which works rescuing wounded and bodies after strikes, the agency said in a statement. Selmi hadn’t seen his daughter for 10 months, since he remained in north Gaza to keep working while his family fled south, the agency said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders are living in Gaza’s schools. The al-Jaouni school, one of many in Gaza run by the UN agency for Palestinians UNWRA, has been hit by multiple strikes over the course of the war.

Israel frequently bombs schools, saying they are being used by Hamas. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties from its strikes, saying its fighters base themselves and operate within dense residential neighborhoods.

More than 90% of Gaza’s school buildings have been severely or partially damaged in strikes, and more than half the schools housing displaced people have been hit, according to a survey in July by the Education Cluster, a collection of aid groups led by UNICEF and Save the Children.

Israel’s 11-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded another 95,029, the territory’s Health Ministry said Wednesday. Israel launched its campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others.

Earlier Wednesday, a strike hit a home near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, killing 11 people, including six brothers and sisters from the same family ranging in age from 21 months to 21 years old, according to the European Hospital, which received the casualties.

A strike late Tuesday on a home in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed nine people, including six women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the civil defense. The civil defense said the home belonged to Akram al-Najjar, a professor at the al-Quds Open University, who survived the strike.

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Arab World

Israel, Hezbollah Brace for Prolonged Fighting in South Lebanon

An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the Lebanese border (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the Lebanese border (Reuters)
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Israel, Hezbollah Brace for Prolonged Fighting in South Lebanon

An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the Lebanese border (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the Lebanese border (Reuters)

Hezbollah is preparing for a prolonged fight in south Lebanon and is insisting on an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory before any ceasefire takes effect, to avoid a repeat of the last war’s outcome, Lebanese sources following the group’s talks with officials said.

Continued Israeli troop build-ups suggest the Israeli army is also bracing for a long battle.

Information in Lebanon on fighters targeted in airstrikes, reinforced by Israeli footage of operations in combat zones, points to a shift in Hezbollah’s military approach.

The group has reduced combat units to two or three fighters to limit attrition and granted field units authority to act independently, based on battlefield conditions.

Sources said Hezbollah is preparing for a long war and will not accept any political deal that does not guarantee an Israeli withdrawal before a ceasefire begins, to prevent Israel from using any pause to destroy more homes or entrench military positions inside Lebanon.

The group is telling officials its fighters will continue to resist Israeli incursions until a full withdrawal, however long that takes. Any political agreement, the sources said, would also ensure the return of prisoners, whose numbers have risen since the war began, and allow displaced residents to return to their homes.

Talks suspended

The leaks indicate Hezbollah has raised its conditions ahead of any potential agreement, although there are currently no negotiations or exchanged messages with Israel through any international mediator, the sources said.

Israel has also raised its demands, seeking political negotiations with the Lebanese state while fighting continues and while it holds Lebanese territory.

These demands are coupled with steps by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, secure northern Israel fully and eliminate any threat, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The stance mirrors Israeli statements. The Israeli military said, “If the Lebanese government does not disarm Hezbollah, we will do it.”

A UN official warned of “increasingly alarming rhetoric” from Israeli authorities and the military regarding southern Lebanon, adding that what is needed is full respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Advance of 10 kilometers

Israeli forces have made what is seen as a strategic advance along Lebanon’s coast, pushing nearly 10 kilometers from the border southwest of Naqoura toward Bayyada, about 12 kilometers from the coastal city of Tyre.

Local sources said progress on this axis has been relatively smooth, as Hezbollah’s defenses are positioned farther east, along the route the Israeli army would take to reach Shama and Tayr Harfa and seize the surrounding high ground.

That would allow it to overlook the valleys of Zibqin and Majdal Zoun, an area it failed to enter in the last war despite controlling Shama.

Elsewhere, Israeli forces have advanced further in Qantara, nearing the edges of Wadi al-Hujair, a strategic valley that marked Israel’s last point of control before its withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. Reaching it would cut Hezbollah's supply lines from the valley and the Litani River toward the interior.

In response, Hezbollah said it carried out a series of attacks targeting Israeli tanks and troop concentrations, and released images showing armored vehicles hit in Deir Siryan and Taybeh with guided missiles and drones. The group said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces at point-blank range in some areas of incursion and inside village neighborhoods.

The number of operations on Thursday reached nearly 90, announced in separate statements, the highest since the war began on Oct. 8, 2024, signaling a sharp escalation.

Israel now fully controls 11 villages across the first, second and third lines along the border.

At the same time, Israeli airstrikes hit the Zahrani area, causing casualties in Sarafand and Saksakiyeh.

Strikes also targeted Bazaliyah in the Bekaa in eastern Lebanon, as well as dozens of villages in the districts of Tyre, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun and Jezzine, in addition to attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Warnings over the humanitarian situation

On the humanitarian front, Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, said about 150,000 people have been cut off after bridges over the Litani River were destroyed.

The situation remains deeply alarming, and there is a real risk of a humanitarian catastrophe, she said.

Marcoluigi Corsi, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, said at a Friday press conference that displaced people in Lebanon are unable to find safe shelter even in the capital, Beirut, amid the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.

Arab World

Hamas to Seek Changes in Response to Disarmament Plan

Smoke rises from a site hit by an Israeli strike near a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip last Wednesday (AP)
Smoke rises from a site hit by an Israeli strike near a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip last Wednesday (AP)
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Hamas to Seek Changes in Response to Disarmament Plan

Smoke rises from a site hit by an Israeli strike near a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip last Wednesday (AP)
Smoke rises from a site hit by an Israeli strike near a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip last Wednesday (AP)

Sources in Hamas and other Palestinian factions say there’s growing pessimism over a plan presented by the high representative of the US-backed Board of Peace, Nikolay Mladenov, to the movement’s leadership, proposing the full and unconditional disarmament of the Gaza Strip.

Two Hamas sources, inside and outside Gaza, told Asharq Al-Awsat the group is leaning toward partially rejecting the plan and will push for amendments to make it more equitable for Palestinians.

They said it does not clearly bind Israel to carry out the second phase, or even complete the first.

A third Hamas source and a senior Palestinian faction figure in Gaza said internal discussions are ongoing within each faction and at a broader national level.

Despite major reservations, they said the proposal would be handled positively while safeguarding Palestinian rights.

A unified response is expected, they added, one that stops short of full approval and instead seeks clarifications, guarantees and clear changes to several provisions.

Although the plan, reported by some media outlets and confirmed by sources, refers to “step-by-step” implementation by both sides, Hamas and other factions believe it favors Israel and does not compel it to meet its obligations.

The sources said it aims to fully disarm Gaza, including light, heavy and even personal weapons that individuals wanted by Israel may retain for self-defense.

Another senior faction source said the plan seeks to reshape Gaza’s political and security landscape and dismantle the “resistance” structure, offering in return only humanitarian and administrative measures that do not preserve Palestinians’ political and national rights.

The “step-for-step” principle, the source said, is largely symbolic, requiring factions to take strategic steps including full disarmament, surrendering all powers, halting any military activity and potentially restricting political activity under various pretexts.

It would also require factions to dismantle their own tunnels in areas under their control in exchange for temporary humanitarian packages.

A Hamas source in Gaza said disarmament “in this way” is unacceptable, arguing that Israel is imposing its conditions without regard for Palestinian demands.

The source said individuals wanted by Israel and leading activists must retain at least personal weapons for self-defense, citing ongoing Israeli special forces operations and armed groups accused of carrying out assassinations.

Such a scenario, the source said, could allow Israel to carry out killings while attributing them to ordinary criminal acts.

The plan’s general principles call for completing outstanding commitments from the first phase without delay and allowing the entry of reconstruction materials, including dual-use items, into areas verified as disarmed and placed under a national committee.

Hamas sees this as linking reconstruction and access to areas in Gaza with the surrender of weapons.

Hamas sources said this contradicts a plan by US President Donald Trump presented to the group during ceasefire talks last September, noting the original proposal called for setting weapons aside under a negotiated framework, not imposing disarmament through what they described as threats.

They added that the Board of Peace plan does not require a full Israeli withdrawal; instead, it outlines a partial, phased pullback without clear benchmarks.

It also falls short of committing to genuine reconstruction, focusing mainly on temporary housing such as caravans, while allowing construction materials in unspecified quantities and without clarifying whether they would support the comprehensive rebuilding of homes and civilian infrastructure.

According to the sources, the plan allows Israel to take military action if the national committee fails to carry out its duties, to address what it describes as a “serious potential threat” in areas declared disarmed. Hamas views this as giving Israel room to justify operations similar to those it currently conducts against Palestinian factions.

Among Hamas’s objections is the Board of Peace’s insistence that no government employees affiliated with the movement serve on the committee that would administer Gaza. The issue was discussed during a recent meeting in Cairo between Hamas leaders and Mladenov and remains under further negotiation.

The plan stipulates that Hamas must cease exercising any civil or security authority in Gaza and refrain from governance, policing and administrative functions.

Hamas is seeking an arrangement under which its civil servants would be integrated after security vetting, while senior officers and others rejected by Israel would be excluded from any governing role in Gaza.

Since Hamas leaders expressed anger at Mladenov, particularly following his remarks before the UN Security Council, the movement’s media outlets have stepped up efforts to promote its position, featuring interviews with faction figures, tribal leaders, analysts and writers to rally support for its stance.

Arab World

After US Terror Listing, Sudan’s Brotherhood Faces Tough Choices

Sudan’s Islamist movement ruled with an iron grip for 30 years before a mass uprising that began on Dec. 19, 2018 toppled it (Reuters)
Sudan’s Islamist movement ruled with an iron grip for 30 years before a mass uprising that began on Dec. 19, 2018 toppled it (Reuters)
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After US Terror Listing, Sudan’s Brotherhood Faces Tough Choices

Sudan’s Islamist movement ruled with an iron grip for 30 years before a mass uprising that began on Dec. 19, 2018 toppled it (Reuters)
Sudan’s Islamist movement ruled with an iron grip for 30 years before a mass uprising that began on Dec. 19, 2018 toppled it (Reuters)

Sudan’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic Movement has remained silent after the US designated it a “foreign terrorist organization,” a decision that took effect on March 16.

Nearly two weeks later, the group’s leadership, at home and abroad, has issued no statement clarifying its position or the potential fallout.

The designation also covers the armed Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade, raising questions in political and Islamist circles over the movement’s future and its options to contain the impact, politically or militarily, as well as how it will deal with the international community.

‘Political’ move

Former ambassador and Islamic Movement member Haj Majid Suwar dismissed the US move as “political,” saying it lacks objective grounds and aims to push the movement out of politics while weakening the Sudanese army by targeting a force aligned with it.

He said the Islamic Movement, though initially influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, later carved out a Sudan-specific path and cut ties early with the international organization. He described it as moderate, with no record of terrorist activity or extremist links.

That contrasts with rights reports that have accused the movement, during its time in power, of abuses including detention and torture in so-called “ghost houses,” as well as other violations documented by human rights groups.

Suwar, who held senior posts under ousted president Omar al-Bashir, denied any organizational link between the movement and the Al-Baraa bin Malik Brigade, calling such claims attempts to sow confusion. He said the brigade is part of the Popular Defense Forces and reserve units formed in 1987, and that its role in the current war falls under general mobilization, not ideological or political affiliation.

Silence from leadership

Secretary-General Ali Ahmed Karti, a former foreign minister, has not commented. The brigade has also stayed silent despite attempts to reach its leadership.

The US decision says Misbah Abu Zaid Talha leads more than 20,000 fighters in the brigade, whose members are believed to have received training and support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

The group has fought alongside the Sudanese army since the war erupted in April 2023 against the Rapid Support Forces.

Mohammed Badr al-Din, deputy head of the Popular Congress Party, said the designation was too broad and should have identified those directly driving the war and rejecting a political settlement.

He said authorities now face two hard choices: dissolve and ban the entities, risking internal confrontation, or try to sidestep the decision by changing names and fronts.

He warned that rebranding is unlikely to convince the international community, which is increasingly alert to such tactics, and could deepen Sudan’s isolation and economic pressure.

Analysts say a name change is one possible route. Islamist thinker Hassan Makki called it meaningless, describing the US move as largely symbolic with limited effect.

Suwar said a name change has long been discussed and did not rule it out, adding that dissolving the movement remains an option under its internal rules if leadership sees it as beneficial.

Jaafar Hassan, spokesperson for the “Somoud” (“Steadfastness”) Democratic Civil Alliance, said the designation marks the end of the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in Sudan and the region.

He said it strips the group of legal cover, restricts its finances and members’ movement, and effectively removes it from politics while holding it responsible for the country’s worsening crisis and war.

Siddiq Farouk of the Sudanese Communist Party said successive US administrations had long dealt with the former regime before resorting to this step, suggesting the move could reshape political and economic influence and push the group toward deals with international actors to secure its survival.

With its leadership silent and scenarios diverging, the Islamic Movement faces a defining moment. Its next move, confrontation or adaptation, will be shaped by internal divisions and growing external pressure in a volatile landscape.