Israeli strike on Gaza school kills ‘more than 100’ during morning prayer – latest

Egypt said on Saturday Israel’s “deliberate killing” of unarmed Palestinians shows that it lacks a political will to end the war in Gaza.

Egypt’s foreign ministry statement came after more than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, according to the official Palestinian news agency.

The Israeli army said it had hit a Hamas command centre.

Vice president Kamala Harris told pro-Palestine protesters at a rally in Glendale, Arizona that “now is the time” to get a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.

“I have been clear: now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done,” she said to applause, after being heckled by pro-Palestine protesters chanting “free, free, Palestine”.

“Now is the time. And the president and I are working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home. So, I respect your voices, but we are here to now talk about this race in 2024.”

A Hamas official was killed on Friday after an Israeli drone strike hit a car in a southern Lebanese city.

Hamas said in a statement that the strike occurred before sunset on the southern entrance of the port city of Sidon and near one of the roads that lead to the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, Lebanon’s largest, and that Samer al-Haj, a Hamas official in charge of security of the camp was killed.

The Israeli military confirmed it targeted al-Haj, saying he was recruiting people to carry out attacks against Israel.

The military has vowed to target Hamas officials everywhere.

The White House has condemned Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich for arguing against a ceasefire and hostage release deal brokered with the Biden administration, calling his recent public statements unhelpful and dangerous.

Andrew Feinberg has the details:

• According to the United Nations, 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged in the war as of 6 July. In June, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed at least 33 people, including 12 women and children, according to local health officials.
• The war was triggered by Hamas’ 7 October attack, in which militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 250 others.
• Israel‘s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,600 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,700 others, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
• More than 1.9 million of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, fleeing repeatedly across the territory to escape offensives. Most are now crowded into ramshackle tent camps in an area of about 50 sq km (19 square miles) on the Gaza coast.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the official Palestinian news agency said this morning, while the Israeli army said it had hit a Hamas command centre.

“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 said in a statement.

In its statement, the Israeli army said its air forces “struck command and control centre served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders.”

“The IAF 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.”

It claimed that 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.”

Britain is deeply concerned by Israel’s decision to revoke the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats dealing with the Palestinian Authority, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

“We are deeply concerned by Israel’s decision to revoke the diplomatic status of 8 Norwegian diplomats dealing with the Palestinian Authority. Norway has long played a unique and valued role in supporting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. We urge Israel to reconsider,” the FCDO spokesperson said in a statement yesterday.

This comes just a day after Israel revoked the accreditation of the eight Norwegian diplomats.