Over 60 killed by Israeli airstrike on Gaza school building

More than 60 people have been killed following an Israeli airstrike on a school building in Gaza, according to Hamas-run authorities.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that the al-Taba’een school was being used as a military facility by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with around 20 militants around the building.

The local health ministry reported that more than 60 people were killed and 47 injured. Israel has targeted a number of similar shelters in Gaza over the past few weeks.

Witnesses stated that the strike occurred during dawn prayers, as the building also served as a mosque. The casualty figures from Saturday's dawn attack are among the highest in recent strikes.

Targeting school buildings has become increasingly common IDF operations. The IDF claim this is part of an ongoing effort to dismantle Hamas military outposts. Since early July, over a dozen schools have been targeted, with the IDF consistently asserting that Hamas uses these schools as command centers for planning and executing attacks, a claim that Hamas denies.

The United Nations reported that as of July, 477 out of 564 school buildings in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged, with more being targeted since.