At least 24 people have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli air strike on a Gaza mosque and a school sheltering displaced people, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office says.
The Sunday strikes on the mosque and the school, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, came as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approached its first anniversary.
The Israeli military said in a statement it 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.
My message to mark one year since the October 7 attacks. — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) pic.twitter.com/0NPlHyAT6sOctober 5, 2024
Israel's military said the command and control centres "were used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against the IDF (Israel Defence Force) troops and the state of Israel".
It said it took "numerous steps" to mitigate harm to civilians.
It was another example of how Hamas used civilian infrastructure in violation of international law, the Israeli military said.
The attack comes after powerful new explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary on Monday of the start of the war in Gaza.
A series of strong explosions were reported near midnight on Saturday after Israel's military called on residents to evacuate areas in Beirut's Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighbourhoods.
Plumes of smoke have dominated the skyline over southern Lebanon after Israeli attacks. (AP PHOTO)
Earlier on Saturday, Israel's attack on the northern Beddawi camp killed an official with Hamas' military wing along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said.
Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.
Residents confronted the aftermath: smashed buildings, scattered bricks and stairways to nowhere.
Israel's military said it killed two senior officials with Hamas' military wing in Lebanon, where fighting has sharply escalated.
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 aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
Thousands of people are fleeing Lebanon to escape Israeli air strikes. (AP PHOTO)
Iranian-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after the October 7 attack by Hamas, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians.
Hezbollah and Israel's military have traded fire almost daily.
Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed almost 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.
It has also displaced almost 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.
with dpa