The Israeli military was quick to justify the attack, alleging that it had “received clear intelligence” regarding the presence of Hamas fighters on the ground, claiming no women or children were present, despite them being the majority of the victims.

A probe by Al Jazeera found that Israel “deliberately timed” Saturday’s attack on a school turned shelter in the Gaza Strip “to cause maximum casualties,” killing more than 100 people during Fajr prayer. 

Published on Tuesday, the investigation by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification agency delved deeper into the massacre by examining survivors’ testimonies, photos of the bombs’ remnants and the damage caused on the site.

“It is clear that the choice was not random,” Sanad said.

The investigative entity found that Israeli occupation forces had deliberately fired two guided missiles during the dawn prayers to kill a large number of Palestinians at the school.

The missiles had penetrated the roof of a mosque attached to the school before passing “through the first floor, where the women’s chapel is located” and exploding “on the ground floor, where the men’s chapel is situated.”

Weapons expert Trevor Ball also confirmed to Sanad that at least two shells were GBU-39 SDB, manufactured by American company, Boeing.

“The southern missile landed at the beginning of the chapel area as prayer was beginning, while the northern missile landed in the sleeping area and near the ablutions and bathrooms where the displaced people were preparing for prayer,” the agency explained.

Israel carried out the massacre on the Al-Tabin school in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City, where displaced families were sheltering. 

The Israeli military was quick to justify the attack, alleging that it had “received clear intelligence” regarding the presence of Hamas fighters on the ground, claiming no women or children were present, despite them being the majority of the victims.

“After we received clear intelligence of the threat posed by these terrorists, and in accordance with international humanitarian law, we took numerous steps to mitigate the risk to civilians. The IDF conducted a precision strike against the terrorists in one specific building of the compound,” Daniel Hagari, the Israeli occupation forces’ spokesperson said.

The Israeli occupation forces also released a list alleging 19 members of the Palestinian resistance were killed during the attack. Hamas dismissed the Israeli allegations, noting that all of the victims of the massacre were civilians who were performing the dawn prayers.

“The Daraj neighbourhood massacre is among the thousands of massacres committed by the criminal Nazi occupation in the Gaza Strip, which intentionally and deliberately targeted defenseless civilians,” Hamas said in a statement.

Sanad also found that the fire caused by the Israeli attack broke out in areas outside the floor of the school that Israel said it targeted.

“The evidence strongly suggests a deliberate and calculated attack aimed at causing widespread loss of life,” Sanad said.

Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip has persisted for over 10 months, killing nearly 40,000 people while displacing 1.9 million people out of the 2.1 million population.

Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly targeted places sheltering internally displaced Palestinians, including schools and hospitals.