The Palestinian Civil Defence has said that at least 14 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli air attack on a school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat school in central Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera reporter on the ground said emergency workers are still trying to find survivors. “They have been digging the rubble with their bare hands due to the lack of basic equipment,” he said.

In addition to 14 bodies retrieved, an unidentified number of injured people have been taken to nearby hospitals, including Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

The Israeli army issued a statement about the attack, claiming that the air force targeted a Hamas command and control centre.

One unidentified Palestinian man who survived the Nuseirat school blast expressed his anger about the latest Israeli assault on a shelter in Gaza.

“All of a sudden there was a huge explosion. Women and children were blown to pieces. This is the fifth time the school building was pounded by Israeli warplanes. It is supposed to be a safe sheltering area. What targets are the Israelis hitting in this school?” he asked.

Earlier on Wednesday, an attack hit a home near the southern city of Khan Younis, killing 11 people, including six brothers and sisters from the same family who ranged in age from 21 months to 21 years old, according to the European Hospital, which received the casualties.