Gaza, Aug 10 (IANS): At least 100 Palestinians were killed on Saturday by Israeli airstrikes at a school serving as a shelter for displaced people in Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, the country's medical and security sources said.

They told Xinhua that the fatal victims included women and children and were transferred to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.

The Israeli warplanes targeted the Al-Tabi'in School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza City while the displaced people in the school were performing the Fajr prayer, Xinhua news agency reported.

Local eyewitnesses told Xinhua that due to a lack of available resources of ambulances and civil defence equipment in the city, the victims were transported to the hospital via private cars and animal-drawn carts.

The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said in a press statement that the Israeli army "directly bombed the displaced people while they were performing the Fajr prayer, and this is what increased the number of dead rapidly."

"The Israeli bombing of a displaced people's school comes within the framework of the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our Palestinian people in a clear manner," the office said.

On the other hand, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they attacked the school, but claimed it was harbouring Hamas militants.