Israel pounds Gaza ahead of truce, killing and injuring dozens

An injured man is evacuated from the site of an Israeli strike in Rafah. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded as Israeli forces step up attacks in Gaza in advance of the truce that came into effect on Friday morning.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 27 fatalities from a strike on the Abu Hussein School. Run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the school in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza was housing many displaced Palestinians.

Israeli forces also launched fresh attacks on the Indonesian Hospital, targeting the main entrance and power generators.

Ashraf al-Qudra, the ministry’s spokesperson, said the hospital had come under “intense bombardment”, and that “large parts of the building” were being targeted.

More than 200 patients, medical staff and internally displaced people were currently at the hospital in Beit Lahiya, which has been under siege for a week.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has soared to 14,854, the government media office in the blockaded enclave said on Thursday.

About 7,000 people remain unaccounted for, including more than 4,700 children, the media office said.

A Palestinian medic and civilians carry an injured man after an Israeli strike on Rafah. [Said Khatib/AFP]

A Palestinian is saved fom under the rubble of a destroyed building after Israeli army air strikes in Rafah. [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu]

Palestinians, including children injured in air strikes, have been taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in the central town of Deir el-Balah, Gaza, for treatment. [Ashraf Amra/ Anadolu Agency]

An injured Palestinian child receives treatment at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]

Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes arrive at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. [Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]

A view of the damage to Al-Shafi'i Mosque and the destruction in its neighbourhood in Gaza City following Israeli attacks. [Montaser Alsawaf/ Anadolu Agency]

Residents search a damaged building following Israeli attacks in Rafah. [Abed Rahim Khatib/ Anadolu]

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors among the rubble of a destroyed house in Khan Younis. [Mohammed Saber/ EPA]

Smoke rises after Israeli attacks targeted residential areas in Rafah. [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu]