Mother describes frantic search for children after Israeli strike hits school sheltering orphans in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike on an orphanage school  in central Gaza killed at least one child and wounded 15 other Palestinians on Friday,  health officials said. 

Asma speaks to CNN standing in the rubble of the struck school in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. 

CNN

CNN footage of the aftermath in Deir al-Balah showed  pieces of a blown-up concrete wall. Boys knelt barefoot trying to retrieve torn books, red backpacks, empty plastic  bottles and canned goods. One survivor told CNN she was woken by the explosion in the middle of the night as she frantically searched for her son and daughter. "We were sleeping in this room, the orphans' room," said Asma, a mother whose son and daughter were rescued after the attack. "We are still in  shock. There were only our children here." I woke up and my son's face was covered in blood," Asma said. "And so was my daughter. We found her in the rubble." The Israeli army said in a statement that it "struck terrorists  operating from the school's command and control center." CNN has not been able to independently verify the statement, but the Israeli army has frequently accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure in its operations and has attacked well over a dozen schools across the Gaza Strip in the past month.

CNN video shows dozens of children injured in the raid lying on the floor of the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Impact on Children: Aid workers have repeatedly highlighted the impact of Israeli military operations on children in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations children's fund UNICEF reported  Friday that  17,000 to 18,000 orphans are left unprotected in the besieged area. At least 16,891 children have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the Hamas-led offensive on October 7, the Gaza Ministry of Health  reported on September 25. CNN cannot independently verify the ministry's figures.  Remember: Despite all the attention on the Lebanon bombing, Israel continues its military operations in Gaza. Israel is fighting on both fronts, the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are  backed by Iran, and the two conflicts have raised fears of a larger regional war.