‘100 killed’ as Israeli air strike hits Gaza school sheltering displaced people

At least 100 people have been killed following an Israeli attack on a school in Gaza housing displaced persons.

The school, located in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood, was bombed during morning prayers on Saturday.

Women, children and the elderly are reported to be among the dead.

The Israeli military, in a statement, said the school was serving as “Hamas headquarters” and sheltered “terrorists”.

It added that “several steps were taken to reduce the possibility of civilian casualties”.

Reacting to the attack in a statement, Gaza government media office said the Israeli occupation army committed “a massacre”, adding that the attack constitutes genocide and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.

“The occupation army directly bombed the displaced people while they were performing the dawn prayer, and this caused the number of martyrs to rise rapidly,” the statement reads.

“Due to the horror of the massacre and the large number of martyrs, medical teams, civil defence, and relief and emergency teams have not been able to recover the bodies of all the martyrs so far.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the occupation’s perpetration of this horrific massacre, and we call on the whole world to condemn it. We hold the Israeli occupation and the American administration fully responsible for this massacre.

“We call on the international community and international organisations to put pressure on the occupation to stop the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing against civilians and displaced persons in the Gaza Strip and to stop the cascade of blood flowing in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel has been launching missiles on Gaza since Hamas infiltrated Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.