Dozens of people have been killed in a strike that targeted a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, Palestinian health officials have said – as the Israeli army said it had struck a “Hamas control centre”.

The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry’s ambulance and emergency service said the strike on the Tabeen school in central Gaza City killed more than 60 people and wounded 47, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier the Gaza Civil Defence agency said displaced Palestinians were sheltering in a school in al Daraj neighbourhood.

“The Israeli strikes targeted the displaced people while performing Fajr [dawn] prayers, a matter led to a rapid increase in the number of casualties,” the Hamas-run Gaza government media office added in a statement.

The Israeli army said its air forces “struck [a] command and control centre served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders”.

“The Israeli Air Force precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control centre embedded in the Al-Taba’een school and located adjacent to a mosque in Daraj Tuffah, which serves as a shelter for the residents of Gaza City,” they added.

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information,” it added.

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