The Israeli army official says the Palestinian group Hamas is operating from within the schools.

An Israeli airstrike hit an UN-run school compound in northern Gaza on Friday, killing three people according to Palestinian emergency officials, a day after a similar strike on a school in Gaza's center killed at least 33 people.

In both airstrikes, the Israeli army said Hamas fighters were operating from within the schools. The Associated Press could not verify the claims.

International pressure is mounting on Israel to limit civilian bloodshed in its war in Gaza, which completed its eighth month on Friday. Seeking a breakthrough in the apparently stalled cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East next week.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 36,730 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies.

UN agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.

Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which fighters stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and abducted about 250. Around 80 hostages captured on Oct. 7 are believed to still be alive in Gaza, alongside the remains of 43 others.

Associated Press