Israeli strike on Gaza mosque kills 19 as Beirut attacks intensify

The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah.

Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control centre embedded among civilians, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead were all men, while another man was wounded.

Israel also once again ordered evacuations in northern Gaza, where it has repeatedly carried out major air and ground operations against Hamas only to see the militants regroup.

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“We are in a new phase of the war,” the military said in leaflets dropped over the area. “These areas are considered dangerous combat zones.”

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there.

The zone includes sprawling tent camps where hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge, and Israel has carried out strikes inside it against what it says are fighters sheltering among civilians.

Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza.

The Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said several homes and buildings had been hit and they were not able to reach them because of the bombardment.

Many posted about the air strikes and mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that an air strike on his home in Jabaliya killed a dozen of his family members, including his parents.

People check the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon (Image: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) The latest strikes add to the mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which is nearing 42,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the October 7 attack and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel is still dropping bombs on Gaza nearly a year after the October 7 attack by Hamas, with Israeli officials stating that the attacks will not end until Hamas are destroyed. 

A new front against Hezbollah in Lebanon has been opened by the Israeli military, which has been trading fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began.

Israel has also vowed to strike Iran itself after it launched a ballistic missile attack on the country last week.

In Beirut, air strikes lit up the skyline and loud explosions echoed across the southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, throughout the night, as Israel struck what it said were Hezbollah militants sites.

READ MORE: October 7: How life has changed in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank

The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport and another formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar.

Israel’s military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.

Hezbollah said it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately”. It was not possible to confirm the claim.

At least 1400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks.

Israel says it is aiming to drive the militant group away from its border so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’s October 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel’s military have traded fire almost daily.

Israeli bombs continue to drop on Beirut as Israel refuses to countenance a ceasefire (Image: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Last week, Israel launched what it said was a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top command.

The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon”.

The minister said Middle Eastern and other countries have put forward initiatives, without elaborating.

He spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised its recent missile strikes on Israel and said it was ready to do it again if necessary.

On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.”

On Lebanon, he said: “We are not done yet.”