Gaza civil defense says Israel strike on school kills nine

Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli strike hit a school in Gaza City on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, while the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas command center.

The bodies of five men and two children were pulled out of the building "after an Israeli plane dropped a bomb on the second floor of the (Mustafa Hafiz School) building housing thousands of displaced people," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

He said 15 people were wounded in the strike.

AFP was unable to independently verify the death toll at the school, which the Israeli military said was targeted because it housed a Hamas command and control centre.

"Hamas terrorists used the command and control centre to plan and execute attacks against IDF (Israeli army) troops and the State of Israel," the military said in a statement.

It said it carried out a "precise strike on terrorists who were operating" inside the school.

Earlier this month, the military had struck the Al-Tabieen School in Gaza City, which according to the civil defense agency killed 93 Palestinians, while the military said 31 militants died.

In recent weeks, the military has struck several schools across Gaza, primarily in Gaza City, accusing them of housing Hamas command centres, which the Palestinian militant group denies.

Tens of thousands of displaced people have taken refuge in schools since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7 after Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 people, 105 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive against Hamas has killed at least 40,173 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Most of the dead in Gaza are women and children according to U.N. human rights office.