Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Palestinians reported a deadly attack from Israel on a school in the Gaza City area that serves as a shelter on Saturday (4/11/2023) local time. This comes ahead of United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken scheduled to hear Arab demands for a ceasefire at a meeting in Jordan.

Quoting Reuters, eyewitnesses said the Israeli attack hit the Al-Fakhoura school in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing and injuring many refugees who had taken refuge there. At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured, Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, head of al-Shifa Hospital, said of the school incident.

“People were preparing breakfast, when suddenly the bombing started. I found my two daughters, one of them was dead and shot in the head, the second was injured in the leg… the other girl was also injured by shrapnel,” one of the men said that was in a video recording obtained by Reuters, quoted on Saturday (4/11/2023).

The Health Ministry in Gaza said another Israeli missile attack killed two women at the door of the Nasser Children’s Hospital. Several more people were injured, he said.

The Israeli military has not commented on the reported attack.

Hours earlier, Gaza health officials said 15 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on ambulances on Friday evening local time. The ambulance was part of a convoy carrying injured Palestinians to Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa.

The Israeli military claimed they had identified and rammed an ambulance “used by a Hamas terrorist cell” and a number of Hamas fighters were killed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry then challenged Israel to provide proof that the ambulance was carrying Hamas militants. Israel later said it intended to release additional information.

Living conditions in Gaza, which were already very bad before the fighting, are now getting worse. Food has become scarce, residents have been forced to drink salt water, medical services have stopped and Gaza health officials say more than 9,250 Palestinians have been killed.

The UN humanitarian office, OCHA, estimates that nearly 1.5 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are internally displaced.

US Secretary of State-Arab Leaders Meeting

Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza when he met Blinken in Amman on Saturday. Blinken, in turn, emphasized his efforts to temporarily halt military operations for humanitarian reasons and to address the detainee problem.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Blinken was also scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Saudi, Qatar, the Emirates and Egypt, as well as the Palestinian representative in Amman.

In a statement Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Arab leaders would emphasize the “Arab stance calling for an immediate ceasefire”, providing humanitarian aid and ways to end the deterioration and security threats.

Meanwhile, Washington has maintained strong military and political support for Israel. This stance was taken while calling on its allies to take steps to avoid civilian deaths and overcome the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(dce)