Anika Begay
A man cries inside a school used as a temporary shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, after the school was hit by an Israeli attack on August 10, 2024, which killed more than 90 people, as the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement continues.
Omar Al-Qattaa | Afp | Getty Images
More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli attack on a Gaza school housing displaced people, the Hamas-led Gaza government said Saturday, with the airstrike targeting a Hamas command center, according to the Israeli military.
The attacks occurred when people who had taken refuge in the school were performing dawn prayers, causing many casualties, the Hamas press office said in a statement. Medics have 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 center where Hamas commanders and operatives were hiding.
The military said it had taken measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, “including the use of accurate munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence.” It did not immediately comment on casualty reports from Gaza.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza, aiming to annihilate Hamas after the Islamist group’s fighters swept into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
Since then, some 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 say most of the victims are civilians. Israel, which has lost 329 people in Gaza, says at least a third of Palestinian casualties are combatants.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar are seeking to revive ceasefire talks in Gaza, scheduling a new round of negotiations for Thursday, amid growing fears of a wider conflict involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Tehran also backs Hamas.
