No one was physically hurt in the explosion but paramedics were treating seven people for shock, said an army spokeswoman at the scene, details that were separately confirmed by emergency services.

Local residents clustered around the school complex, which was cordoned off by dozens of soldiers and police officers, an AFP reporter saw.

The Israeli military did not confirm the origin of the drone and no group has so far claimed responsibility.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have claimed repeated missile and drone attacks aimed at Israel as they step up a campaign of disruptive strikes also targeting US forces in the region during the Israeli war on Gaza.

The ongoing war erupted when Hamas militants crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

More than 10,800 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes unleashed in the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, the health ministry in Gaza says.