Israel said it targeted Hamas fighters inside the hospital compound, where displaced people were living in tents. A separate strike killed several people at a Gazan school turned shelter.The New York Times reports that deadly strikes in central Gaza overnight have resulted in dozens of Palestinian casualties, according to health officials and the United Nations. The Israeli military targeted a hospital complex where they claimed Hamas fighters were hiding, causing a tent encampment to catch fire and leaving five people dead and many others injured. Doctors Without Borders, who have medical staff working in Gaza, reported the incident.

Video footage from the Associated Press and Reuters showed people sifting through debris and attempting to put out fires at the encampment, which was being used as a shelter for displaced people. The Israeli military stated that they had targeted a Hamas command center, but this claim could not be independently verified.

The White House National Security Council spokesman, Eduardo Maia Silva, called the images and videos from the scene “deeply disturbing” and stated that even if Hamas was using civilians as human shields, Israel has a responsibility to avoid civilian casualties.

In a separate attack, a school compound in central Gaza was hit, where families were seeking shelter. Palestinian civil defense reported that at least eight bodies were recovered from the scene, and the Israeli military stated that they were looking into the reports. The main U.N. agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza stated that the facility was supposed to be used for polio vaccinations after a mass anti-polio campaign resumed on Monday.

These strikes in Gaza come after a weekend of intense fighting along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, home to the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah. At least 51 people were killed and 174 others injured on Saturday, and at least three people were killed and 84 wounded on Sunday, according to Lebanese authorities, as Israel’s ongoing assault on Hezbollah continues.

The U.N. Security Council held a closed emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon that have injured U.N. peacekeeping forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement shortly before the meeting, stating that Israel was not targeting the peacekeepers.

The recent Hezbollah drone strike on an army base in northern Israel, which killed four soldiers, has highlighted Israel’s vulnerability to attacks from unmanned aircraft. In response, the United States announced on Sunday that they would be sending an advanced missile defense system to Israel, along with about 100 American troops to operate it. This marks the first time the U.S. has sent forces to Israel since the Hamas-led attacks. 

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