Israeli military confirms the attack carried out on school in Gaza City, claiming terrorists were hiding there
\n Gaza
\nMore than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to officials in the enclave.
\nThree Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in the Daraj district, Gaza\u2019s civil defence agency said of the attack on Saturday, which it described as a \u201chorrific massacre\u201d.
\nWomen, children and the elderly are reported to be among the dead and the toll was expected to rise. The attack took place while people were performing morning prayers and triggered a fire that ripped through the building.
\nIsmail al-Thawabta, the head of Gaza\u2019s Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army used three bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907kg) each in its attack.
\nHe said Israel was aware of the presence of displaced people inside the school.
\nThe Israeli military said its air forces struck a \u201ccommand and control centre\u201d that \u201cserved as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders\u201d.
\nWithout providing evidence, the Israeli military said in a separate statement that it had intelligence indicating there were 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including senior commanders, operating from the school.
\nIt also said that the civilian casualty figures given by Palestinian authorities were inaccurate.
\nSaturday\u2019s attack was the fourth such incident in a week. Hamas has denied Israeli accusations that it operates from civilian facilities such as schools and hospitals.
\nThe attack was condemned by Qatar and Egypt \u2013 two of the key mediators leading negotiations for a ceasefire \u2013 among several other countries. Palestinian political factions, as well as NGOs and the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) also denounced the strike.
\nPalestinian journalist Hossam Shabat reported that rescue teams were unable to help those trapped by the flames as the Israeli military cut water access to the area.
\nMany of the wounded rushed to the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City were in a critical condition, severely bleeding from shrapnel or severely burned from the fire that broke out from the bombardment, said Al Jazeera\u2019s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
\n\u201cMany are arriving either soaked in blood or already pronounced dead,\u201d Mahmoud said, adding that the medical facility was on the brink of collapse and unable to provide adequate medical care.
\nSome of the bodies were hard to recognise, \u201cso relatives at the hospital searching for their loved ones are struggling to find any way to identify them\u201d, he added.
\nMahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the civil defence agency, said: \u201cThe school area is strewn with dead bodies and body parts. It is very difficult for paramedics to identify a whole dead body. There\u2019s an arm here, a leg there. Bodies are ripped to pieces.\u201d
\nAl Jazeera\u2019s Mahmoud said among those killed were survivors of attacks in different evacuation centres over the last 10 days.
\n\u201cThey had lost family members, they were on their own and they were seeking shelter and protection at this particular school-turned-evacuation centre,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means entire families are being obliterated and wiped off the civil registry across the Gaza Strip.\u201d
\nThe bombing comes as Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks on August 15 to reach a ceasefire.
\n\u201cBut every time we get closer to any sort of negotiations for a ceasefire, there is some sort of large-scale Israeli attack that completely derails these discussions,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan.
\nHassan Barari, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said the attack was part of Israel\u2019s strategy to thwart peace efforts.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve been targeting hospitals and now schools. And this is a reflection of an Israeli mindset that wants to make Gaza really a hard place to live in,\u201d Barari told Al Jazeera, adding this was a pressure tactic to get concessions from Hamas in any future talks.
\n\u201cWe have seen this movie before,\u201d Barari said. \u201cEvery time there was talk about peace talks and about truth, the Israelis would do something to undermine the effort. And I think this is clear this time that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is trying to preempt the talks on Thursday.\u201d
\nGaza\u2019s Ministry of Health said on Saturday that at least 39,790 people have been killed and 92,002 wounded in Israel\u2019s war on the enclave.
\nAn estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli military confirms the attack carried out on school in Gaza City, claiming terrorists were hiding there Gaza More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to officials in the enclave. Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school, located in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-424182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n