Israeli airstrike hits a school sheltering people in Gaza, killing at least 30

Gaza Strip: Israeli airstrikes hit a school being used by displaced people in central Gaza on Saturday, killing dozens, as the country's negotiators prepared to meet international mediators to discuss a proposed cease-fire.

At least 30 people sheltering at a girls' school in Deir Al-Balah were taken to Al Aqsa Hospital and pronounced dead after a strike that Israel's military said targeted a Hamas command and control centre used to store weapons and plan attacks.

It said militants “used the compound as a hiding place to direct and plan numerous attacks against IDF troops” and “developed and stored large quantities of weapons inside”.

Civil defence workers in Gaza said that thousands were sheltering in the school, which also contained a medical site.

Near the hospital, where the bodies were transported, Associated Press journalists saw an ambulance rushing through a dusty road as a few people ran in the opposite direction. (AP)