More than a dozen Gaza schools damaged in Israeli bombardment

The schools suffered damage to glass windows, doors and walls, according to Gaza's ministry of education, with dust and shrapnel entering into classrooms and school grounds.

The schools are located across the Gaza strip. Western Khan Younis, where five schools were destroyed, was the district which suffered the most damage.

A truce appeared to be reached on Monday, despite any official ceasefire announcement from either side. The Israeli army on Monday lifted protective restrictions on residents in southern Israel, while Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV in the Gaza Strip reported a ceasefire, signalling a deal had been reached to end the bloodiest fighting between Palestinians and Israelis since the 2014 war.

The Gaza Strip had been subjected to intense Israeli strikes from the air and the sea since Saturday. The spokesman for the health ministry of the Hamas-led government in Gaza tweeted Monday that 24 Palestinians had been killed in the fighting. They include two pregnant woman and a 14-month old baby, Saba Abu Arar.

The Palestinian dead also included a commander for Hamas' armed wing who Israel said it targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip. It was a rare admission of a targeted killing by the Israeli army.

On the Israeli side, four civilians were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups.

The conflict broke out after four Palestinians were killed and two Israeli soldiers were wounded at a weekly demonstration held by Palestinians on the Gaza-Israel border, known as the Great March of Return.

At least 268 Palestinians have been killed and over 23,000 injured since the first Great Return March protest was held on 30 March 2018. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.

The results of a UN investigation released at the end of February found that Israel committed crimes against humanity in responding to the border protests, as snipers "intentionally" shot civilians including children, journalists and the disabled. 

Israel and Palestinian militants in the blockaded Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears of a fourth surged in the recent conflict.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt and the United Nations had led to relative calm around Israel's 9 April general election.

Recent conflict threatened the ceasefire, in which Israel allowed Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid to Gaza to pay salaries and to finance fuel purchases to ease a severe electricity shortage.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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