IDF says it struck terrorists hiding in UNRWA school, took steps to avoid harming civilians

The Israel Defense Forces says it has carried out a precise strike on a compound used by the Hamas terror group inside an UNRWA school in central Gaza, while taking extensive precautions to reduce harm to civilians.

The Hamas-run government media office has claimed at least 27 people were killed in what it termed the Israeli “massacre.”

“A short while ago, fighter jets… conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside an UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat,” the army says in a statement, adding that several terrorists were “eliminated.”

The IDF says the compound was used by members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force who took part in the terror group’s October 7 massacre in Israel, in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

The army says the terrorists, along with members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, “directed terror attacks from the area of the school, while exploiting it as a civilian location and as shelter.

“The strike eliminated terrorists who had planned to carry out terror attacks and advance imminent terror schemes against our forces,” the IDF says, adding that “many steps were taken before the strike to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved people” — including analyzing aerial footage and using precise intelligence.

It releases an aerial photo showing where in the compound the terrorists had allegedly been staying.

לפני זמן קצר, מטוסי קרב תקפו בהכוונת כוחות אוגדה 99, אגף המודיעין ושב״כ מתחם ששימש את ארגון הטרור חמאס הממוקם בתוך בית ספר של אונר״א במרחב נוציראת.

במתחם שהו מחבלי חמאס וגא״פ אשר השתייכו לכוחות הנחב׳ה ולקחו חלק בטבח הרצחני ביישובי העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר>> pic.twitter.com/9IrXYw34qq

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 6, 2024

AFP contributed to this report.

Hamas claims 27 killed in attack on UNRWA school in Gaza’s Nuseirat

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office claims that at least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured in an UNRWA school housing displaced persons in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, casting it as an Israeli “massacre.”

The Israel Defense Forces doesn’t immediately react.

There is no immediate confirmation by the Hamas-run health ministry either, and the claim cannot immediately be verified.

Police probe after vandal filmed smashing door of Haaretz offices

Police are investigating after a yet-unidentified man vandalized the main offices of the left-wing Haaretz daily in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.

הבוקר נופצה הכניסה לבניין הארץ בתל אביב. לפני שעה הותקף בעיר העתיקה בירושלים כתב הארץ @nirhasson בידי נערים ש״חגגו״ את יום ירושלים
ישראל תחת מתקפה מבפנים, מסוכנת בהרבה מכל איום חיצוני. ועדיין, ניר וכל יתר העיתונאים בעיתון הוותיק ביותר בישראל נמשיך בעבודה שלנו בהגנת המולדת pic.twitter.com/j8q63u1RZT

— Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר (@AnshelPfeffer) June 5, 2024

In CCTV footage, the culprit is seen walking up to the automatic glass doors with a large hammer and smashing a hole into the door before walking away.

אירוע חריג במשרדי עיתון הארץ הבוקר, אדם הגיע עם פטיש וניפץ את השמשה בכניסה למשרדים. כעת כל עובדי הארץ מחפשים אותו להבין את המניע למעשה הזה. המשטרה חוקרת. אנחנו נמצא את התכשיט pic.twitter.com/GjOKxMsvFU

— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) June 5, 2024

Saudi Arabia decries Jerusalem Day Flag March as ‘provocation’

Saudi Arabia tears into the Israeli government for allowing today’s Jerusalem Day Flag March to go forward through the flashpoint Old City of the capital, including through its Muslim Quarter.

“The kingdom affirms that these violations represent a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world, especially in light of the continuing war and acts of violence against Palestinian civilians,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry claims in a statement.

As in past years, the Flag March featured some far-right participants assaulting journalists, harassing Palestinians and chanting racist slogans against Arabs.

The condemnation comes amid increased frustration in Riyadh with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued refusal to accept a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a key condition for a series of bilateral agreements that Riyadh is seeking to sign with the United States.