Israel strikes school-turned-shelter as concerns mount over Gaza aid mechanism
GAZA CITY
People watch as smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 25, 2025. Rescuers in Gaza said 22 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian territory on May 25.
Devastating Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people on May 26, many of them in a school turned shelter, as a controversial aid mechanism group is scheduled to operate in the territory following a sudden resignation of its CEO.
The strike on the school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City killed 33 people as the school was hit three times while people slept, setting their belongings ablaze.
The civil defense agency said many of the casualties at the school in Gaza City were children, while the Israeli military said the site was housing "key terrorists.”
Footage circulating online showed rescuers struggling to extinguish fires and recovering charred remains.
A separate strike on a home killed 15 members of the same family, including five women and two children.
The strike came as Israel plans to roll out a new aid distribution system run by a group known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, made up of former humanitarian, government and military officials, that would set up distribution points guarded by private security firms.
The foundation said in a statement that it would begin delivering aid on May 26 and would reach 1 million Palestinians — around half of Gaza's population — by the end of the week.
However, Jake Wood, the American heading the foundation, unexpectedly resigned on May 25, saying it had become clear that the foundation would not be allowed to operate independently.
“It is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, which I will not abandon,” he stated.
U.N. agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the planned U.S.-backed system, saying it would force even more displacement, fail to meet local needs and violate humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
Army to seize 75 pct of Gaza in 2 months
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it plans to seize control of 75 percent of the Gaza Strip within two months as part of its renewed campaign.
Once the large-scale ground assault begins, the Palestinian population will be confined to three limited areas. This would effectively compress the strip’s 2 million residents into just 25 percent of its territory.
Following this, the IDF intends to take over the remainder of Gaza, dismantle Hamas infrastructure, demolish most of the buildings and maintain control over the area indefinitely, Israeli media reported after seeing an official document on the plan
The planned takeover includes all of Rafah, Khan Younis and towns north of Gaza City. Currently, the Israeli military controls roughly 40 percent of the Gaza Strip, according to the army.
The plans’ announcement came after the army issued evacuation warnings for Gaza's Khan Younis.
