Kenyan officials remove bodies as they try to confirm the death toll from a school dormitory fire

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Officials began removing the bodies of children who burned to death in a school dormitory in central Kenya on Sunday as they tried to account for dozens of boys who are still missing.

Journalists were moved to wait outside the school compound as a team that included morticians from the Nyeri provincial hospital set up tables outside the dormitory on Saturday.

Eighteen boys aged between 10 and 14 are known to have died and 27 were hospitalized after the Thursday night fire at Hillside Endarasha Primary school, but 70 others are still unaccounted-for.

The country's president, William Ruto, has declared three days of mourning. Police are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Anxious parents who had been waiting all day for news about their children were on Friday evening allowed to see what remained of the dormitory. Some parents broke down as they left the scene.

The government has urged school administrators to enforce boarding guidelines that require dormitories to be spacious, with three doors and no grills on the windows for easy escape in case of fires.

School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent education ministry report. Many students board because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.

Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi started by a student.

Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history was in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos county.

Distressed parents stand near a burnt-out dormitory, following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sep. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Part of a dormitory is seen following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya has killed several students and seriously burned others. (AP Photo)

An ambulance drives inside the Hillside Endarasha Primary school following a fire incident in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sep. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Distressed parents and relatives stand outside the administration block near a burned-out dormitory, following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sep. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Distressed parents and relatives stand near a burned-out dormitory, following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Kenya Red Cross personnel and relatives try to comfort a woman reacting near a burned-out dormitory, following a fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri, Kenya Friday, Sep. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed 16 people in the Gaza Strip, including five women and four children.

A strike early Monday flattened a home in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 10 people, including four women and two children.

The Awda Hospital, which received the bodies, confirmed the toll and said another 13 people were wounded. Hospital records show that the dead included a mother, her child and her five siblings.

Another strike on a home in Gaza City killed six people, including a woman and two children, according to the Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government.

Israel says it only targets militants and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The Gaza Health Ministry says over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war nearly a year ago. It does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister has told his U.S. counterpart that time is running out for an agreement with Hezbollah to halt the fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that “the possibility for an agreed framework in the northern arena is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas.”

“The trajectory is clear,” Gallant added, according to a statement released from his office on Monday.

Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into northern Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Both armed groups are allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Israel has responded to the attacks with airstrikes and the targeted killing of Hezbollah commanders. It has threatened a wider operation, raising fears of another all-out war.

Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but months of talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled.

Hamas has demanded a lasting cease-fire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as part of any agreement to release the scores of hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7 attack.

Gallant told Austin that “in any possible scenario, Israel’s defense establishment will continue to operate with the aim of dismantling Hamas and ensuring the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza — by any means.”

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli airstrikes kill 16 in Gaza, including 4 children, Palestinians say

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli airstrikes kill 16 in Gaza, including 4 children, Palestinians say

FILE -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)