Israeli airstrike on Gaza school kills more than 100 people
More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the Hamas-run Gaza administration confirmed on August 10.
The Israeli military said the airstrike targeted a Hamas command center, calling it a "horrific crime" and a serious escalation.
The airstrikes struck as people sheltering at the school were praying at dawn, resulting in several casualties, the Hamas media office said in a statement.
The office said medical staff had not yet been able to access all the bodies. There was no immediate information from Gaza health authorities.
The Israeli military said its air force targeted a command and control centre where Hamas militants were hiding. It added that steps had been taken to minimise the risk of harm to civilians, “including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence”.
Israel says Hamas militants are infiltrating Gaza's civilian population, operating in schools, hospitals and designated humanitarian areas - something Hamas denies.
Egypt's foreign ministry condemned the airstrike, which came as mediators were pushing for a resumption of ceasefire talks, and said the killing of Gaza civilians showed Israel had no intention of ending the war.
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of ceasefire talks for August 15, amid growing concerns about a wider conflict involving Iran and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has vowed not to end the war until Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israelis, said a delegation would be sent to the talks on August 15. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was studying a new offer for talks but gave no details.
Israel launched its offensive on Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, 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.
Most of the dead were civilians, health officials said. Israel, which has lost 329 people in Gaza, said at least a third of the Palestinians killed were militants. Iran-backed Hamas has not released its own casualty toll./.
