UN school in Gaza 'hit'

At least ten people were killed on Sunday in a fresh strike on a UN-run school in southern Gaza, medics and witnesses said.

Gaza emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said another 30 people were wounded in the attack in the city of Rafah.

The school had been sheltering hundreds of Palestinians displaced by fighting amid an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Medics and witnesses said a missile launched by an Israeli aircraft had struck the entrance to the school. The Israeli military declined immediate comment.

Israel accuses Palestinian militants of regularly using civilian facilities such as schools to store weapons. A few such caches have been found since the Israeli offensive began on July 8.

Last week, a strike on another UN-run school in the Jabalya refugee camp killed more than a dozen people and injured more than 100.

Partial pullout

Reports of the school attack come as Israel's military begins redeploying its troops along the Gaza border after the government announced it was reassessing its operations in the area.

Tanks and vehicles were seen leaving Gaza on Sunday a day after Israel informed residents of Beit Lahiya and Al-Atatra in the north that it was "safe" to return home. Witnesses say Israeli forces also have also withdrawn from villages east of Khan Yunis in the south.

An army spokesman however told AFP news agency that Israel was "removing some (forces), we are changing from within," but was not ceasing its operations against Hamas.

"But indeed we will continue to operate ... [and] have a rapid reaction force on the ground that can engage Hamas if required," Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said.

"It's changing gear but it's still ongoing."

'Intolerable price'

In a televised address late on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation would be reassessed, but warned that Hamas would pay an "intolerable price" if it continued to fire rockets at Israel.

Israel said its offensive is aimed at stopping rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and destroying a tunnel network used by Palestinian militants to carry out attacks within Israeli territory.

More than 1,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in 27 days of fighting. Nearly 70 Israelis, nearly all soldiers, have also lost their lives.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials, including some from Hamas, have arrived in Cairo to take part in indirect talks on resolving the crisis expected to be held in Egypt.

Israel has said it will not be sending anyone to the talks, accusing Hamas of not adhering to any previous agreements or truces.

tj/kms (dpa, AFP, Reuters)