Women and children 'among 48 people killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza'

At least 48 people have been killed in Gaza following a series of Israeli airstrikes, according to local health officials.

On Wednesday, 15 people died at the Karama School in Tuffah, a suburb of Gaza City, where displaced families were sheltering. Another strike killed at least 33 others, including women and children, near a crowded market and restaurant in the city.

The Associated Press news agency, which reported similar fatality figures, also said 86 people had been injured in the strikes. There has been no immediate comment from Israel, however Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will expand an offensive against Hamas and seize the whole of Gaza.

Footage from the Reuters news agency from near the market showed wounded men being rushed away on the back of pickups and carts. Ambulances were also seen heading to the scene.

Two Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday hit another school, housing displaced people, in Bureij camp in central Gaza. Local health authorities said at least 33 people were killed.

The Israeli military said it had struck "terrorists" operating from a command centre in the compound. Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in March after the collapse of a US-backed ceasefire, which had suspended fighting for two months.

A third of Gaza cleared by Israeli forces Troops have already taken over around a third of Gaza, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on ground the military has cleared and described as security zones. On Monday, an Israeli defence official said any operation targeting Hamas would not be launched before Donald Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East next week.

The official also stated there was a "window of opportunity" for a ceasefire and hostage release deal during the US president's trip. A senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, said on Wednesday that the group were insisting on a full ceasefire deal to end the war.

Naim said Hamas would not accept "desperate attempts before Trump's visit, through the crime of starvation, the continuation of genocide, and the threat of expanding military action to achieve a partial agreement that returns some (Israeli) prisoners in exchange for a few days of food and drink". Israel has imposed an aid blockade, sparking warnings from the UN that Gaza's 2.3 million people face imminent famine.

The war began in October 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage, according to Israeli figures. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, as reported by Hamas-run health authorities, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figure..