A Hezbollah missile and drone strike in northern Israel killed two Israel Defense Forces soldiers and left nine others injured Thursday — as US and French officials warned that the escalation could sink the already troubled Gaza cease-fire and hostage negotiations.

Six United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) were among at least 17 people killed in a Wednesday strike on the Al-Jaouni School in Nuseirat in central Gaza, the agency confirmed. It is the fifth time that the school has been targeted since Oct. 7.

The source of Wednesday’s explosions was not immediately clear but the blasts came a day after thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah blew up across Lebanon.

The attack came as the militant group’s leader said two days of pager and walkie-talkie explosions amounted to a declaration of war.

PMSaudi Arabia will not recognize Israel without Palestinian state: Crown PrinceSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom would not recognize Israel as a state without a Palestinian state.

The powerful Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah continued to strike what it called military targets in northern Israel Thursday after thousands of its members were injured and several killed in an apparent Israeli operation using exploding pagers and other communication devices.

Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week for fresh talks on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, and as tension persists at the Israel-Lebanon border.