At least 24 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza mosque

At least 24 people were killed and 93 others wounded when Israeli airstrikes targeted a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza this morning, according to Gaza government media office.

The strikes on the mosque and the school, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, came as the war between Israel and militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary.

In its own statement, the Israeli military claimed it had conducted "precise strikes on Hamas terrorists" who were operating within command and control centres embedded in Ibn Rushd School and the Shuhada al-Aqsa Mosque in the area of Deir al Balah.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

It has also displaced nearly all of the enclave's 2.3 million people, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Israeli army encircles Gaza's Jabaliya as Hamas rebuilds

The Israeli military said its forces surrounded the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza in response to indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of strikes and fighting.

"The troops of the 401st Brigade and the 460th Brigade have successfully encircled the area and are currently continuing to operate in the area," the military said in a statement.

The military claimed it had intelligence indicating the "presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area of Jabaliya... as well as efforts by Hamas to rebuild its operational capabilities in the area".

"Prior to and during the operation, the IAF (air force) struck dozens of military targets in the area to assist IDF (army) ground troops," the military said, adding targets hit were weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure sites and other militant infrastructure sites.

Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that multiple strikes rocked Jabaliya through the night and there were many casualties.

Israeli forces have bombarded Jabaliya regularly since the war in Gaza started, displacing almost all of its residents.

As the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 2024 approaches, listen to 'Drivetime In-Depth, War in Gaza' - available on RTÉ.ie/radio or wherever you get your podcasts: Drivetime In-Depth: War in Gaza - RTÉ Podcasts