Israel bombs mosque in Gaza, says it was a weapons depot
by Lisa Hornung · UPIJuly 29 (UPI) -- The Israeli military on Wednesday accused Hamas of storing weapons inside a mosque it bombed in northern Gaza on Tuesday, an allegation Palestinian sources called false.
The mosque was "another example of terror organizations using civilian infrastructure for terror purposes," The Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli military.
Israel said the weapons were to be used in attacks on Israeli troops in Gaza and Israeli civilians, and the sites were hit "to remove the threat."
The Hamas government said the allegations were "entirely false" and that Israel used the claim "to justify its attacks on mosques," The New York Times reported. There were no reports of deaths from the mosque attack, but there were four deaths from attacks in Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
The Israeli military said it gave advance warning of the attack to civilians "to mitigate the risk of harm to them."
"It was a terrifying sound," Riyad al-Masri, 31, who lives near the mosque, told The New York Times. "It shook the ground."
Despite a cease-fire signed in October, Israel has increased its attacks on Gaza in recent weeks.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza since the cease-fire, on top of more than 73,000 killed during the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. Its list does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, The New York Times reported.
Under the 20-point peace plan for Gaza negotiated by the United States, Hamas was required to disarm. The group has agreed to give up administrative control of Gaza, but it has not yet agreed to disarm.
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai said earlier this month that Israel would continue strikes in Gaza if Hamas doesn't disarm, The New York Times reported.
"At the end of the day, this place will be demilitarized, and there will be no Hamas," he said in remarks published by Channel 14, a right-wing Israeli TV station.