Gaza rescuers say 52 killed in “Israeli” strikes, including 33 in a school

Rescuers said “Israeli” strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people on Monday, 33 of them in a school-turned-shelter, as European allies ramped up their criticism of “Israel”.

While the war raged on, mediators presented a proposal for a 70-day ceasefire and captive-release deal to “Israel” and Hamas, a Palestinian source said.

The strip’s civil defence agency said many of the casualties at the school in Gaza City were children, while the “Israeli” military claimed the site was housing "key terrorists".

“Israel” has stepped up a renewed offensive it claims to destroy Hamas, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a blockade since early March that has sparked severe food and medical shortages.

It has also triggered international criticism, with European and Arab leaders meeting in Spain calling for an end to the "inhumane" and "senseless" war, while humanitarian groups said the trickle of aid was not nearly enough.

In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced unusually strong criticism of “Israel”, saying: "I no longer understand what the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip, with what goal."

The impact on Gazan civilians "can no longer be justified", he added.

Nevertheless, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin would continue selling weapons to “Israel”.

In Gaza City, civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said that an early-morning “Israeli” strike on the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school, where displaced people were sheltering, killed "at least 33, with dozens injured, mostly children".

The “Israeli” military said it had "struck key terrorists who were operating within a Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) command and control centre embedded in an area", adding that "numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".

Another strike killed at least 19 people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Bassal said.

“Hunger, desperation”

“Israel” last week partially eased an aid blockade on Gaza that had exacerbated widespread shortages of food and medicine.

COGAT, the “Israeli” defence ministry body that coordinates civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that "107 trucks belonging to the UN and the international community carrying humanitarian aid... were transferred" into Gaza on Sunday.

But aid agencies insist that is nowhere near enough, at just a fraction of what was allowed in during a two-month ceasefire.

While “Israel” has restricted aid into Gaza, the war has made growing food next to impossible, with the UN saying on Monday just five percent of Gaza's farmland was now useable.

Meanwhile, Jake Wood, the head of a US-backed group preparing to move aid into Gaza, announced his resignation, saying it was impossible to do his job in line with principles of neutrality and independence.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has vowed to distribute about 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation, and said in a statement it would begin "direct aid delivery" on Monday.

The UN and international aid agencies have said they will not cooperate with GHF and have heavily criticised its plans.