More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza City school sheltering displaced people.
The strikes hit when people sheltering at the al-Tabeen school in the Daraj neighbourhood, were performing dawn prayers, leading to many casualties, Gaza’s media office said in a statement. Medics had not yet been able to reach all the bodies, it said.
The death toll would appear to be one of the largest from a single strike during 10 months of Israel’s devastating war on the Palestinian territory.
At least three missiles ripped through the school before dozens were killed, Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence said.
Bassal added that that at least 6,000 Palestinians were sheltering at the al-Tabeen school.
The Israeli military claimed that it targeted a “command and control centre” where Hamas commanders and operatives “were hiding”.
Hamas, as well as Fatah, denounced the attack, calling it a “dangerous escalation” and a “horrific crime” which represents the “peak of terrorism and criminality”.
Israel has continued to strike other parts of the Gaza Strip, including several areas of the Nuseirat camp.
