Draft:Medhat Abbas

Israeli strikes hammered a Gaza refugee camp on Friday after a deadly strike on a U.N.-run school, as the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel entered its ninth month.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip, uprooted most of its 2.4 million population and put them at risk of starvation.

The Israeli army launched Monday an operation around Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, with witnesses reporting air strikes on the devastated neighbourhood where it is located.

Israeli soldiers "are currently conducting a precise operation in the area of the Shifa hospital", a statement from the military said.