Middle East

Gaza health ministry says 26 killed in Israel strike on mosque

GAZA — The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir al-Balah killed 26 people, while Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas.

“The number of martyrs brought to hospitals as a result of the occupation’s targeting of displaced people in the Ibn Rushd school and Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque reached 26, with several more wounded,” the health ministry said in a statement.

The Gaza civil defence agency had earlier said 21 people had been killed in the pre-dawn strike in central Gaza’s Deir El-Balah area.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had “conducted a precise strike on Hamas who were operating within a command and control centre” at the mosque. It did not give any specific toll. — (AFP)