Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification agency has probed the details of Israel’s Saturday morning attack on Tabeen School, which killed about 100 people, including women and children.

The investigation determined the attack was “deliberately timed to cause maximum casualties”, with a “large number of displaced people deliberately targeted”.

To reach its findings, Sanad examined survivors’ testimonies, photos of the remnants of bombs used in the attack, images showing how the bombs penetrated the ceilings of the mosque attached to the school, and documentation of the explosion’s immediate aftermath.

Based on the evidence, Sanad said Israel’s military fired the two guided missiles used in the attack to coincide with dawn prayers. The missiles “penetrated the mosque’s roof, passed through the first floor, where the women’s chapel is located, and exploded on the ground floor, where the men’s chapel is situated”, said Sanad in its report.

Sanad challenged the Israeli military’s claims that the attack targeted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters it said were in the men’s prayer hall at the time. It pointed out that the strikes occurred during prayer time in a mosque serving displaced civilians. 

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