Israel strikes on Gaza school site kill at least 80, Palestinian officials say

The bombing of Tabeen school, where about 6,000 displaced people were sheltering, was hit when many people were preparing for dawn prayers on Saturday, and reportedly caused a fire. Video from the scene showed horrific loss of life, with body parts, rubble and destroyed furniture scattered across blood-soaked mattresses.

Dr Fadel Naeem, the director of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, told the AP that the facility had received 70 bodies of those killed in the strikes and the body parts of at least 10 others.

As it stands, the Tabeen school death toll is one of the largest from a single strike during 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the Palestinian claim was inflated, and at least 20 fighters, including senior commanders, were among the dead.

Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties, saying that its fighters use civilian infrastructure as a cover, which makes buildings such as schools and hospitals valid targets. Hamas denies those claims.

According to the civil defence service, three missiles targeted a two-storey building where women were using the top floor and men and boys the ground floor, which was also a space for prayer.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would send a delegation to the talks beginning on 15 August. His administration has been accused of repeatedly sabotaging ceasefire talks.

Israel is still bracing for retaliatory attacks, amid fears the Gaza war is on the brink of morphing into a region-wide conflict.

Hamas triggered the fifth war with Israel since it seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 with its 7 October attack on communities across southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage.

A ceasefire brokered at the end of November saw about 100 Israelis released in exchange for about 200 women and children held in Israeli jails, but broke down after a week.