DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An Israeli strike killed a teenage girl Monday as she walked to her high school to take an exam in Gaza City, relatives said.
Raghad Hassan Ashour, 16, was headed to the 11th grade test when the blast occurred in a busy street in the Rimal district, according to a relative, Jameel Ashour.
The military said the strike targeted a Hamas militant, but that it was aware of a claim that an “uninvolved individual was harmed.”
Dozens of Palestinians, including Ashour’s mother, gathered to mourn the girl after her body was taken to Shifa Hospital. Three other people were injured in strikes in the same area, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
Videos of the strike and its aftermath showed groups of people gathered around two destroyed vehicles. Rescue workers were also at the scene and bloodstains could be seen on the ground.
Israel has continued to launch strikes in Gaza despite a ceasefire deal that was reached in October. The military says it targets Hamas and other militants who pose a threat and has accused the group of violating the ceasefire, but civilians also have been killed.
Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip have killed over 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire was reached, the Gaza Health Ministry said last week.
Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 73,018 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.
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