A Palestinian girl struggles to obtain donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AP
At least five children and four women were among those killed in the strike on a school in the Jabaliya area, the Palestinian Health Ministry’s emergency service said.
Another Israeli artillery strike targeted a home in the Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing a father and his young daughter.
Moreover, the Israeli army launched a series of intense airstrikes on southern Gaza, which coincided with large-scale demolitions of homes in the city of Rafah, according to Al Jazeera.
On 18 March, Israel unilaterally ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that was mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US, resuming its genocidal war on Gaza.
Since then, Israel has killed more than 2,720 Palestinians, raising the death toll since the war began in October 2023 to at least 52,820 people.
It has also blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid to Gaza, plunging the territory's 2.3 million people into the worst humanitarian crisis since the Israeli war began.
US-Israeli captive release
The latest Israeli attacks came hours after Hamas announced it would release US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander on Monday, following direct talks between the Palestinian resistance group and the US in Doha over the weekend.
"The (Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades have decided to release the Zionist soldier holding American citizenship, Edan Alexander, today, Monday," Hamas' armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Hamas said releasing Alexander, who grew up in the US and was captured by the Palestinian resistance on 7 October 2023, would be "part of efforts towards a ceasefire" and the reopening of aid crossings.
However, the Palestinian group demanded that American envoys ensure a "halt to all Israeli military operations ... to create a safe corridor" for Edan's transfer to the Red Cross, a Hamas source told AFP.
The source said the group had decided not to hold a public ceremony for the handover.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump, due in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, hailed the "monumental news" of Alexander's release in a social media post as a "good faith gesture."
"Hopefully, this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict," he stated.
Back in the Arab World, in a joint statement, Egypt and Qatar welcomed Hamas' decision to release Alexander as "a gesture of goodwill and an encouraging step toward a return to the negotiation table."
On Sunday, two Hamas officials confirmed to AFP that talks with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in Doha were achieving "progress."
Hamas also said it was ready to "immediately begin intensive negotiations" that could lead to an agreement to end the war and would see Gaza under a technocratic and independent administration.
Conversely, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening there would be no prisoner swap or a ceasefire in exchange for Hamas' release of Alexander, adding that a new truce proposal was delivered to the Palestinian group.
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