AP – An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip yesterday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in a widening war with militant groups across the region.
Displaced people were sheltering at the mosque that was struck near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. A further four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town. The Israeli military said both strikes targetted militants, without providing evidence.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue.
Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men.
Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli strikes across northern Gaza. The Civil Defense – first responders said several homes and buildings had been hit and they were not able to reach them because of the bombardment.
Residents posted about the airstrikes and mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya killed a dozen family members, including his parents. Saeed Abu Elaish, a Health Ministry medic, said he was wounded and bleeding.
“Pray for us,” he wrote on Facebook.
