Strikes Kill 43 In Gaza As UN School Hit

At least 43 people have been killed in Gaza, including many at a UN school, during another night of heavy shelling, medics have said.

The Jebalya refugee camp, used as a shelter for those displaced by the war, was shelled shortly after 5.30am (2.30am GMT), a UN official said.

One of the shells hit the Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) girls' school, killing 20 people, including a young child, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al Qidra said.

A UN official confirmed the shelling, saying it hit a bathroom and two classrooms.

It is the second UN school to be hit in the past week, with a complex in Beit Hanoun  struck last Thursday , killing at least 15 people.

Earlier, thick, black smoke could be seen rising from blazing fuel tanks at Gaza's only power station, which Israel knocked out on Tuesday.

Officials said the plant could be out of action for a year.

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its 23rd day, Israeli TV said progress was being made to achieve a deal in Cairo, where a Palestinian delegation was expected to arrive for discussions.

On Tuesday, the leader of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, issued a rare statement, saying there will be no end to the fighting until the blockade of the Gaza Strip is lifted.

It came on the bloodiest day of the conflict so far, with at least 128 Palestinians killed as Israel sought to destroy what it called Hamas "terror sites" with heavy fire from the air, land and sea.

According to UNRWA , about 10% of Palestinians - more than 200,000 people - have been displaced by the fighting and are taking refuge in its 82 emergency shelters.

The figure is triple that seen at the peak of the 2008/9 conflict, with the organisation warning it is now at "breaking point".

Some 1,245 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the start of the offensive on July 8.

On the Israeli side, 53 soldiers and three civilians have died.

A poll by Tel Aviv University found 95% of Israel's Jewish majority feel the conflict is justified, with just 4% saying too much force is being used.