An attack on a mosque kills 19 people as Israel bombs northern Gaza and southern Beirut

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli attack on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel continued its bombing of northern Gaza Strip and southern Beirut in a widening war with the Iran strengthened allied militant groups across the region.

Displaced people sought refuge in the destroyed mosque near the main hospital in downtown Deir al-Balah. A strike at a school housing displaced people near the city left another four people dead.

The Israeli military said both attacks targeted militants, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies in the mortuary of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Hospital records revealed that those killed in the attack on the mosque were all men.

Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza a year after the group attacked Israel and has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has been fighting a firefight with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel has also vowed to attack Iran itself after Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

The widening conflict risks involving the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel, as well as U.S.-allied Arab countries where American forces are stationed. Iran-aligned militant groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have already engaged in long-range attacks on Israel.

Israeli forces return to Jabaliya and issue new evacuation orders

The Israeli military, meanwhile, announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, home to a densely populated refugee camp that dates back to the 1948 war over the creation of Israel. It circulated photos and video footage showing a column of tanks heading toward the area.

According to the military, Israeli forces surrounded Jabaliya as warplanes struck militant sites inside. Over the course of the war, Israel conducted several major operations there, but then the militants regrouped.

Israel repeated its call from the first weeks of the war for a complete evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip. It is estimated that up to 300,000 people remained in the badly damaged north after earlier Israeli warnings prompted around a million people to flee to the south.

“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.”

Palestinian residents reported heavy Israeli attacks in northern Gaza. Civil Defense – first responders who operate under the Hamas-led government – said several houses and buildings were hit and they were unable to reach them due to the bombardment.

Residents posted on social media about the airstrikes and mourned the loss of their families. Imad Alarabid said in a Facebook post that a dozen family members, including his parents, were killed in an airstrike on his home in Jabaliya. Saeed Abu Elaish, a health ministry medic, said he was injured and bleeding.

“Pray for us,” he wrote on Facebook.

Local journalists said one of their colleagues, Hassan Hamd, was killed in artillery shelling at his home in Jabaliya. He had worked as a freelance television reporter and his recordings were broadcast on Al Jazeera and other channels. Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter in northern Gaza, confirmed his death.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it had expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip and urged people to go there. Hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge in sprawling tent camps there, with no shortage of food, water or toilets. Israel has carried out attacks in the humanitarian zone against militants allegedly hiding among civilians.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the latest attacks bring the Palestinian death toll in Gaza to nearly 42,000. The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths, but many of the dead were women and children.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack. They are still holding around 100 prisoners, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Heavy bombardment of southern Beirut

In Beirut, airstrikes lit up the skyline and loud explosions echoed throughout the night in the southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh as Israel reportedly struck sites of Hezbollah militants. The attacks reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon's only international airport, as well as another building formerly used by the Hezbollah-run Al-Manar broadcaster.

The Israeli military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon and some were intercepted.

Hezbollah said it successfully attacked a group of Israeli soldiers in northern Israel “with a large barrage of rockets, hitting them precisely.” The claim could not be confirmed.

At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million displaced from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it wants to expel the militant group from its border so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return to their homes.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon's strongest force, began firing rockets at Israel almost immediately after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and the Israeli military engage in firefights almost every day.

Last week, Israel launched what it said was a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon after a series of strikes killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his top commanders. The fighting is the worst since the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in ground fighting that Israel said killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.

It is not possible to verify battlefield reports from both sides.

Macron responds to Netanyahu's allegations

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his call for a partial arms embargo on Israel – a demand that drew an angry response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a written statement, Macron's office said he supported a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza, saying a ceasefire was needed “to stop the increasing violence, free the hostages, protect civilians and pave the way for the necessary political measures.” “Security of Israel and the entire Middle East.”

Macron's previous similar comments prompted Netanyahu to release a video statement in which he called the French president by name and called such calls a “disgrace.”

Macron's office insisted that “France is Israel's loyal friend” and called Netanyahu's comments “exaggerated and irrelevant to the friendship between France and Israel.”

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

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