At least 29, mostly children, killed by Israeli attack on school-turned shelter in Gaza City

Gaza: At least 29 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others injured in an Israeli attack on the Dar Al-Arqam school, east of Gaza City, the Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Thursday.

The office stated that among the dead were 18 children, women, and elderly people.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defence, told Xinhua that "the school had been sheltering displaced families seeking refuge from continuous Israeli bombardment."

"The army attacked it while it was sheltering many displaced people," he said, adding that emergency teams rushed to the scene, pulling bodies from the rubble and treating the wounded amid the destruction.

Locals said the Israeli army attacked the school with three missiles. "The blast was massive. Many were killed instantly, and others are still trapped under the debris," said Mohammed Alaa, a local resident.

Also on Thursday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed in a statement that it struck prominent militants in a Hamas command and control centre in the area of Gaza City.

The centre had been used by the militants to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, according to the statement.

Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18 and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on the Palestinian enclave.

Thenewed Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,163 Palestinians and injured 2,735 others, Gaza health authorities said on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, Israel's military spokesman Effie Defrin said the army had entered "a new stage" in its offensive in Gaza, adding that it had carried out more than 600 attacks on the enclave since March 18.