DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed at least 27 Palestinians sheltering at a school in northern Gaza and wounded 70 more, said Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi, as Israeli forces have expanded their strikes and evacuation orders across the war-torn territory in recent days.

Palestinian authorities say children were among the dead, while Israel says it hit a Hamas command-and-control centre.

The bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, and the death toll could still rise because some of the 70 wounded had critical injuries,