Gaza civil defence says 93 dead in Israeli strike on school shelter

Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians killed 93 people, as Israel's military accused militants of using the building as a command centre.

AFP could not independently verify the toll which, if confirmed, would appear to be one of the largest from a single strike during 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.

Hamas denounced the "dangerous escalation" in north Gaza, which came after international mediators invited the warring sides to resume next Thursday talks towards a long-sought ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

Jordan's foreign ministry said the timing of the school strike "is an indication of the Israeli government's efforts to obstruct and thwart these efforts."

Civil defence in the Hamas-ruled territory said three Israeli missiles hit the school in Gaza City while people performed dawn prayers.

"Their bodies were torn apart," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. "It reminds us of the first days of the war in the Gaza Strip."

With most of Gaza's 2.4 million people displaced during the war started by Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, many have sought refuge in school buildings, which have been hit at least 14 times since July 6, according to an AFP tally.

Israel's army said Saturday it had "precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control centre embedded in the Al-Tabieen school".

The military has repeatedly made similar accusations after strikes on the school shelters. Hamas has previously denied Israeli claims that it uses schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities for military aims.

- Bodies and blood -

AFPTV live images from the scene showed a large complex with a courtyard where debris lay inside and out. Part of the structure appeared to be a mosque, the upper story of which was partially blown out and charred.

Images showed white-shrouded bodies, blood stains on the ground, and smoke rising from the rubble.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and in January the military said it had dismantled the group's command structure in northern Gaza. But the military has since found itself returning there and to other areas of the territory to battle militants again.

Iran has accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East, and Hamas officials, some analysts and critics in Israel have said Netanyahu has prolonged the fighting.

However, Netanyahu's office on Thursday said Israel would send negotiators "to conclude the details of implementing a deal", after the joint invitation from mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The mediators' invitation followed intense diplomacy aimed at averting a region-wide conflagration.

In a joint statement Thursday, the three countries' leaders invited the warring parties to resume talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo "to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay".

Recent discussions have focused on a framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in late May and later endorsed by the UN Security Council.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, "raised the importance of swiftly achieving" a hostage release deal, Gallant's office said.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on social media platform X: "We need a ceasefire in Gaza now" and expressed strong support for the mediators' efforts.

- Engulfed by fire -

Saturday's strike in north Gaza came after the military on Friday said troops were operating around Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza city from which soldiers had withdrawn in April after months of fierce fighting with Hamas.

The Gaza war has already drawn in Iran-aligned groups around the region. Fears of a broader Middle East war have surged following vows of vengeance from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Hamas, Iran and others for the killing of two senior militants, including Hamas's political leader.

The killing last week of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh during a visit to Tehran had sidelined truce talks. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel, which has not directly commented.

Iran's mission to the United Nations on Saturday said the Islamic republic has "the legitimate right to self-defence" after its sovereignty was "violated".

"However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire," it said.

Haniyeh's death came hours after an Israeli strike on south Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, the military chief of Hezbollah. Israel said this was in response to rocket fire that killed children and teens in the annexed Golan Heights.

Hamas ally Hezbollah has been trading near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces.

On Friday an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the south Lebanon city of Sidon killed a Hamas commander, the Palestinian group and the Israeli military said.

AFPTV images showed the car engulfed by fire. It was the first strike of its kind in Sidon during the Gaza war.