An Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City killed about 100 Palestinians during Saturday morning prayers, Hamas said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the airstrike targeted Hamas militants operating from a command center embedded in the Al-Taba’een school, according to a Telegram post.

The school was located adjacent to a mosque in Daraj Tuffah, which serves as a shelter for the residents of Gaza, the IDF said. The center was as a hideout for Hamas commanders, it said.

Local Gaza authorities said the dead included women and children who were sheltering in the school, even as the IDF said precise weapons and various steps were taken to mitigate the risk to civilians.

The attack is one of the deadliest in the Israel-Hamas war, and the high death toll from the strike is expected to hinder international attempts to resume cease-fire talks between the two sides.

The U.S. Qatar and Egypt are calling for a new round of talks on Aug. 15, the latest attempt by the Biden administration to end the war in Gaza even as the region braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel. Israel has said it will send a delegation, while Hamas has yet to respond.

The three nations have been pressuring the two sides for months, urging Israel and Hamas militants to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip that has killed roughly 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the coastal strip. Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union.

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