A man cries inside a school used as a temporary shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike on August 10, 2024, killing more than 90 people, as the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement continues.
Omar Al-Qattaa | AFP | Getty Images
The Hamas-run Gaza government said on Saturday that more than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people. The Israeli military said the airstrike targeted a Hamas command center.
The Hamas media office said in a statement that the airstrikes occurred as people sheltering at the school were praying at dawn, causing many casualties. The office said medical workers had not yet been able to access all the bodies.
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 center where Hamas commanders and agents were hiding.
The military said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, “including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence”. It did not immediately comment on reports of casualties from Gaza.
Israel launched an offensive into Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas after militants from the Islamist group swept into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Health officials said most of the dead were civilians. Israel, which lost 329 people in Gaza, said at least a third of the Palestinians killed were militants.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to revive ceasefire talks in Gaza, scheduling a new round of talks on Thursday, as fears grow of a wider conflict involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Tehran also backs Hamas.
