Israeli airstrike hit school in central Gaza, killing at least 30

At least 30 Palestinians were killed, while several were injured when an Israeli air strike hit a school in Deir al Balah in central Gaza on Saturday. The Israeli military claimed that it had struck a Hamas command centre embedded in the Khadija school.

The reports, quoting the Gaza health ministry and the Hamas-run government media, said over 100 others were injured in the Israeli air strike.

The Israeli military has said it had targeted a "Hamas command and control centre inside the Khadija school compound in central Gaza".

The Hamas used the compound to develop and store large quantities of weapons and as a hiding place to plan attacks on Israeli troops and civilians, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing the Israeli military.

People were seen searching for victims under the rubble and some were gathering remains of those who were killed.

Hamas condemned the strike. "The heinous massacre committed by the fascist occupation army in Sayyida Khadija School in Deir al-Balah, which houses thousands of displaced people, by targeting the schoolyard and a field medical point with three bombs dropped by its warplanes, which resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of displaced people, patients and wounded, most of them children and women; is a brutal crime that confirms the detachment of this terrorist enemy from all human values, and its continued defiance of all laws of war that stipulate the protection of civilians" the Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas.

Earlier today, the Israeli army ordered the civilians to evacuate a part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of the planned strike. The civilians were asked to relocate to a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi. The evacuation order was in response to rocket fire that Israel said originated from the area.

The Israeli army said its calls to evacuate the area were communicated to the population via several mediums to mitigate danger to civilians.

Earlier today, Palestinian officials said that at least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks since dawn in Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, the UN and humanitarian officials have accused Israel of using disproportionate force in the war and of failing to ensure civilians have safe places to go. However, Israel has denied the charges.