Iraeli forces have struck a UN-run school in Gaza City where hundreds of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge, alongside a wave of attacks on homes and high-rise buildings that has left vast areas in ruins. The school, along with a multi-storey residential block, was completely destroyed.

UNRWA facilities and other shelters have repeatedly come under fire throughout the war, despite being widely used as safe havens for families forced from their homes. Earlier strikes on similar sites have killed dozens, many of them children, and rights groups warn this pattern reveals a deliberate policy of targeting civilian shelters.

Families trapped in Gaza City say evacuation is impossible: there is no safe passage, no transportation, and no resources to survive in the south, where shelters are overcrowded and conditions dire. For many, leaving their homes feels like embarking on a journey of death.Human rights organisations caution that the relentless targeting of schools, camps, and humanitarian centres amounts to systematic collective expulsion, violating international law and stripping civilians of the right to safety and dignity in their own land.