Israel airstrike on Gaza school kills more than 100, Hamas-run media office says

More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the Hamas-run Gaza government said on Saturday, an airstrike the Israeli military said had targeted a Hamas command centre.

The strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to many casualties, the Hamas media office said in a statement. Medics had not yet been able to reach all the bodies, it said.

There was no immediate information from Gaza health authorities.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its air force targeted a command and control centre where Hamas commanders and operatives were hiding.

The military said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians, “including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information”. It did not immediately comment on the casualty reports from Gaza.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza, aiming to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group’s fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Health officials say most the fatalities have been civilian. Israel, which has lost 329 in Gaza, says at least a third of the Palestinian fatalities are fighters.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to revive Gaza ceasefire talks, scheduling a new round of negotiations for Thursday, as fears are growing of a broader conflict, involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Tehran also backs Hamas.