Israeli strike on mosque kills 19 as it bombards northern Gaza and southern Beirut

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******** strike on mosque ****** 19 as it bombards northern Gaza and southern Beirut

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An ******** strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday ******* at least 19 people, ************ officials said, as ******* intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in its widening war on Iran-allied militant groups across the region.

******* is still battling ****** in Gaza nearly a year after its Oct. 7 *******, and has opened a new front against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has been trading ***** with ******* along the border since the war in Gaza began. ******* has also vowed to strike Iran itself after it launched a ballistic missile ******* on the country last week.

The widening conflict risks drawing in the ******* States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to *******, as well as U.S.-allied ***** countries that host ********* forces. Iran-allied militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also joined in with long-distance strikes on *******.

Strikes across Gaza and new evacuation orders

The strike in Gaza hit a mosque where displaced people were sheltering near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. ******* said it targeted a ****** command and control center 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 ***** were all men, while another man was wounded.

The military meanwhile announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, home to a densely populated ******** camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding *******’s creation. It circulated photos and video footage showing a column of tanks heading toward the area.

The military said its forces had encircled Jabaliya as warplanes struck militant sides ahead of their advance. Over the course of the war, ******* has carried out several large operations there, only to see militants regroup.

******* also ordered new evacuations in northern Gaza, which largely emptied out in the early weeks of the war when ******* ordered its entire population to flee south. Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained there despite harsh conditions and heavy destruction.

“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 ******** 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 ******* has carried out strikes inside it against what it says are fighters sheltering among civilians.

************ residents reported heavy ******** strikes across northern Gaza. The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the ******-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 airstrikes and mourned their relatives on social media. Imad Alarabid said in a

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post that an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya ******* a dozen of his family members, including his parents.

Local journalists said one of their colleagues, Hassan Hamd, was ******* in artillery shelling on his home in Jabaliya. He had worked as a freelance TV reporter and his footage had aired on Al Jazeera and other networks. Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter in northern Gaza, confirmed his ******.

The latest strikes add to the mounting ************ ****** toll in Gaza, which is nearing 42,000, according to the ************ Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the ***** were women and children.

******-led militants ******* some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 ******* and took another 250 ********. They are still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be *****.

Heavy bombardment of southern Beirut

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

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

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

At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been ******* and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. ******* says it aims to drive the militant group away from its border so that tens of thousands of ******** citizens can return to their homes.

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

Last week, ******* launched what it said was a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks ******* longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top command. The fighting is the worst since ******* and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006. Nine ******** soldiers have been ******* in ground clashes that ******* says have ******* 440 Hezbollah fighters.

It is not possible to verify battlefield reports from either side.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-***** in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister said Middle Eastern and other countries had put forward initiatives, without elaborating.

Araghchi spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised its

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and said it was ready to do it again if necessary.

On Saturday evening, ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “******* 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.”

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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#******** #strike #mosque #****** #bombards #northern #Gaza #southern #Beirut

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