Beirut: Gaza's civil defence agency said 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 militants.
"The number of deaths rose to 26 and a large number of wounded as a result of the Israel bombing of a mosque sheltering displaced people in front of the gate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip," said agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
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.
'Very violent' Israeli strikes hit Beirut
Official Lebanese media said Israeli strikes hit south Beirut Saturday night into Sunday, some of them "very violent", with AFP correspondents hearing explosions for over two hours in one of the most intense barrages yet.
"Israeli enemy warplanes carried out four very violent strikes on (Beirut's) southern suburbs, and one strike on the Chweifat" area, with ambulances rushing to the site, Lebanon's National News Agency said.
AFP correspondents heard explosions in south Beirut and its outskirts for more than two hours following the NNA's statement. Footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the targeted areas.
In one south Beirut location a ball of flame rose into the air while flares shot up amid thick smoke for about an hour.
The NNA said air traffic at Lebanon's only airport in Beirut, close to the targeted areas, was "ongoing despite the Israeli enemy's aggression on the southern suburbs. Several Middle East Airlines planes have just landed".
New evacuation warning
The Israeli army said it was "currently striking targets belonging to the Hezbollah in the area of Beirut" in a statement on its Telegram channel.
Earlier Saturday night, the Israeli army announced a new call for residents to evacuate from Beirut's southern suburbs, as it continued to target Hezbollah positions in the Lebanese capital.
"For your safety and that of your family members, you must immediately evacuate the designated buildings and those adjacent to them and move away from them at least 500 meters," said spokesperson Avichay Adraee on social media, alongside satellite images highlighting areas in the Burj el-Barajneh, Haret Hreik and Chweifat al-Amrussiya neighbourhoods.
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and its foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire for nearly a year in fallout from the Gaza war.
But since September 23, Israel has launched devastating air strikes on targets in Lebanon that have killed more than 1,110 people and forced more than one million to flee their homes.
Last week, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in air strikes on the group's south Beirut bastion.
