The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces surrounded the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza in response to indications that Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of strikes and fighting.
“The troops of the 401st Brigade and the 460th Brigade have successfully encircled the area and are currently continuing to operate in the area,” the military said in a statement.
The military said it had intelligence indicating the “presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area of Jabaliya... as well as efforts by Hamas to rebuild its operational capabilities in the area.”
“Prior to and during the operation, the IAF (air force) struck dozens of military targets in the area to assist IDF (army) ground troops,” the military said, adding that the targets hit were weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure sites and other militant infrastructure sites.
Gaza Civil Defense agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP that multiple strikes rocked Jabaliya through the night and there were many casualties.
Strike on Deir el-Balah Mosque
Furthermore, the agency reported on Sunday that 26 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a mosque converted into a shelter for displaced persons in Deir el-Balah (center), with the Israeli army explaining that it had targeted fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement.
“The death toll has risen to 26 and there are a large number of wounded following the bombardment by the (Israeli) army of a mosque sheltering displaced persons in front of the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip,” said Bassal.
The Israeli army explained in a statement that it had “carried out a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command and control center located in a structure that previously served as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs mosque in the Deir al-Balah area.”
With AFP
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