Israeli strikes leave 40 dead in southern Gaza, claims Hamas

"Forty people were killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble," the operations director of Hamas's civil defence authority told the BBC.

Local residents told the British media that three strikes targeted tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi

Eyewitnesses told the BBC large explosions rocked the al-Mawasi area shortly after midnight and flames could be seen rising into the sky.

Khaled Mahmoud, a volunteer for a charity who lives near the site of the strikes, told the British media he and other volunteers rushed to help but were stunned by the scale of the disaster.

"The strikes created three craters seven metres deep and buried more than 20 tents," Mahmoud said.

Meanwhile, The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed as quoted by media that it struck Hamas terrorists who were operating within the command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area in Gaza.

Hamas, however, has rejected the claims.

Hamas said “dozens of unarmed civilians, most of whom were children and women” were killed in the strike, reported CNN.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told CNN that Palestinians in the area were not warned of the strike in advance.

There were more than 200 tents of displaced people at Al-Mawasi area, Bassal said

Meanwhile, Monday would have marked the start of the new school year in Gaza, but the ongoing war continues to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of this fundamental right, UN agencies have warned.

Almost 625,000 children in the enclave have already lost an entire school year following the 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on communities in southern Israel and the ensuing Israeli military operation in Gaza.

They are now joined by more than 45,000 six-year-old children poised to enter first grade, elevating the risk of a second year without any classroom education, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said

No graduations

With every school shuttered since October last year, there was no graduating class in the Strip – the first such occurrence in decades, UNICEF noted. About 39,000 students missed their final year of school and could not take the Tawjihi exams.

For older children, the disruption extends beyond missed education opportunities.

Without schooling, young people are at an increased risk of exploitation, child labour, early marriage, and other forms of abuse. Most importantly they are at risk of dropping out of school permanently, the agency said.