Israeli fighter jets and an attack helicopter fired on two UNRWA-operated schools in Gaza City causing multiple casualties at the Musa bin Nusair School, war monitors report, in what Israel said was an operation against locations used to “plan and direct” attacks against its forces, Al Jazeera reports.

The Israeli air force attacked more than 50 targets across Gaza in total on Thursday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) say in their latest report on fighting in Gaza.

According to the US-based think tanks, Israeli troops operating in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City reported close-range battles with Palestinian fighters on Thursday, while Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad units continued to target Israeli forces with powerful “explosively formed penetrators”.

The sustained use of such “sophisticated weapons and tactics” among Palestinian fighters in Shujayea remains consistent with previous analysis by the ISW and CTP that Hamas has “at least partially” rebuilt its fighting force in the area since Israeli forces pulled out in April.

A barrage of rockets was also launched from Gaza towards areas in southern Israel on Thursday, the ISW/CTP reports.