An Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital compound has left at least 500 people martyred, said the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday. Meanwhile, six others were martyred in a UN-run Gaza school, as per the health ministry.
The health ministry in Gaza reported that over 500 people perished in the air raid at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza.
The total death toll has now exceeded 3,000, with this incident being the deadliest attack so far since Israel commenced its bombing campaign in response to the attack by Hamas on southern Israeli communities on October 7.
"Two hundred to 300 displaced people killed in occupation [Israeli] strikes on the yard of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza," the ministry said adding that "hundreds of victims are still under the rubble."
However, according to media reports, more than 500 people have been martyred in the school attack.
The media office of Gaza's Hamas government described the attack as a "war crime".
"The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes because of other strikes," a statement said.
An Israeli military spokesman did not confirm the occupied forces hitting innocent civilians.
"We will look into it ... the strike happened just a short while ago, " Daniel Hagari said in a televised press briefing.
At least 3,000 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip since the surprise attack on October 7.
More than 1,400 people in Israel were dead.
"At least six people were killed this afternoon when a UNRWA school was hit in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza," UNRWA said.
"The school was hit during Israeli forces air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip," it said.
Dozens of people, including UNRWA staff, were wounded and the school suffered severe structural damage, it said, adding the number of casualties was expected to rise.
"At least 4,000 people have taken refuge in this UNRWA school turned shelter. They had and still have nowhere else to go," the agency said.
"This is outrageous, and it again shows a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians," it added.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency — or UNRWA — was established in 1949 to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees.
It operates in annexed east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Biden's visit, seen as potentially the riskiest of his presidency, is expected to see him reaffirm US backing for Israel and try to stop the escalating war against Hamas from spiralling into a wider conflict.
Israel has also imposed a crippling siege on the impoverished Gaza territory and deployed tens of thousands of troops in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas while also seeking to rescue the at least 199 hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas, which has released a video of one of the captives, French-Israeli woman Mia Shem.
Her mother, Keren Shem, made an emotional plea for her safe return, at a Tel Aviv press conference.
"I ask world leaders that my daughter be returned to us in the state that she is today, as well as the other hostages," she said, adding that "I am begging the world to bring my baby back home."
Diplomatic bids to free the hostages have gathered pace. Turkey said it was in talks with Hamas to secure their release.
But there were mixed views about how effective Biden could be, with some Palestinians blaming the US for backing Israel, and even Israelis sceptical.
"We don´t believe anymore in politicians," said a 23-year-old Omer Nevo. "I don't trust anyone anymore after what has happened here."
Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Tuesday that Israeli forces "will commence the enhanced military activities when the timing suits the goal".
The army later announced the killing of a senior Hamas commander, Ayman Nofal. Hamas also confirmed his death.
Israelis are still reeling from the worst attack in the country's 75-year history, which has sparked a mass mobilisation of reservists and the evacuation of residents from areas near Gaza and Lebanon.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, back in Israel after a whistlestop regional tour, said Biden's visit would be a statement of "solidarity with Israel" and an "ironclad commitment to its security".
Washington has already sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean "to deter hostile actions against Israel".
The Pentagon has put 2,000 troops on deployment alert to be able "to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East". US media said the troops would cover support roles such as medical assistance and handling explosives.
Israel's arch-foe Iran, which backs both Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah groups, has repeatedly warned against a Gaza invasion and Monday raised the spectre of a possible "pre-emptive action" against Israel "by the resistance axis."
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that "no one can stop" forces opposed to Israel if it keeps up its bombardment of Gaza.
Deadly flare-ups have rocked Israel's northern border with Lebanon.
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