Israeli airstrikes on a school accommodating families displaced by conflict, as well as near a bustling market and restaurant in Gaza City, have resulted in at least 38 fatalities, according to local health authorities.
Emergency personnel reported that two strikes targeted the Karama School in the Tuffah suburb, claiming 15 lives. Later, an additional strike near a restaurant and market in Gaza City killed at least 23 individuals, including women and children, medics confirmed.
There was no immediate response from Israeli officials.
Footage from Reuters at the market site depicted injured men being hurriedly transported away on pickups and carts, with ambulances racing down damaged streets. A distraught woman was seen carrying an infant, flanked by two young children.
Palestinian men were observed mourning at Al-Ahli hospital following the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City.
Ahmed Al-Saoudi reported witnessing the airstrike near the market.
“People come to the market to acquire what they can … Neither people nor animals were spared. Young or old, everyone was in danger,” he stated.
One image circulating on social media showed a family of three—mother, father, and son—lying lifeless on the street amid pools of blood, with the young boy carrying a pink backpack. Reuters has not yet verified this image, which was reportedly taken near the restaurant.
Two Israeli airstrikes on another school accommodating displaced individuals in Bureij camp, located in central Gaza, resulted in at least 33 casualties, including women and children, according to health authorities. The Israeli military claimed it targeted “terrorists” operating from a command center within the compound.
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The strike devastated classrooms, obliterated furniture, and left a large crater in the school grounds. This afternoon, survivors rummaged through the debris in search of their belongings.
“What occurred felt akin to an earthquake. The Israeli occupation targeted a school housing children. They are merely children,” stated eyewitness Ali Al-Shaqra, noting that the school had sheltered 300 families.
“Here stands the building; it’s been leveled to the ground. We cannot locate the gas cylinders, the flour bags, or even the kilo of rice we received from the Tukkiyah (community kitchen). Thankfully, all we have left are the clothes on our backs,” Mr. Shaqra continued.
Smoke billowed following an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee area.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has voiced opposition to the attacks.
On social media, Mr. Martin denounced the strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire, the restoration of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages.
I strongly condemn the strikes on a school sheltering families in Gaza, which has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths, including children.
We need an immediate ceasefire, the resumption of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) May 7, 2025
In Rafah, situated in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border, residents and Hamas sources reported that Israeli forces, who have seized control of the city, continued to demolish and blow up houses and buildings.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas, claimed their fighters detonated a pre-planted minefield targeting an Israeli armored unit east of Khan Younis in the south, stating they inflicted casualties, followed by mortar fire on the area.
Israel resumed its operations in March after a collapse of a US-backed ceasefire that had temporarily halted hostilities for two months. The country has since instituted an aid blockade, raising alarms from the UN regarding the impending famine facing the 2.3 million population.
Israeli troops have already secured an area covering roughly one-third of Gaza, displacing residents and constructing watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared land, deemed security zones by the military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared intentions to escalate the offensive against Hamas, following approval from his security cabinet for plans that may entail seizing control of all of Gaza and managing aid distribution.
However, an Israeli defense official noted that the operation would not commence until US President Donald Trump concludes his upcoming Middle East visit, providing a “window of opportunity” for a ceasefire and hostage negotiations during this time.
Read more: Ireland among six nations urging Israel to ‘show restraint’ in Gaza. Israeli minister states ‘Gaza will be entirely destroyed.’ Martin labels Israel’s Gaza blockade ‘clearly a war crime.’
A senior Hamas official insisted that Hamas would reject any temporary truce in exchange for a brief resumption of aid, demanding a complete ceasefire to conclude the war.
Basem Naim stated that Hamas would not entertain “desperate attempts prior to Mr. Trump’s visit, involving starvation and continued genocide, threatening to expand military actions to achieve a partial agreement that would release some (Israeli) prisoners for a few days of food and water.”
The conflict initiated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 individuals and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign has resulted in over 52,000 Palestinian fatalities, predominantly civilians, as reported by health authorities operating in Gaza, leaving much of the region in ruins.
The Gaza government’s media office reported that two local journalists, Nour Abdu and Yehya Sbeih, were killed during the attacks, raising the toll of Palestinian journalists who have died from Israeli fire since the conflict’s commencement to 214.
