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Mosque strike, displacement
Israeli jets struck the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Gaza City on Tuesday, destroying the mosque and tents sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians near the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building, leaving hundreds homeless, according to multiple outlets.
“Israeli jets struck the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Gaza City”
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah that "Yes, the whole area was warned, but a very narrow window of time was given for people to take precautionary measures," as the strike hit the area.
In a separate attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and wounded more than a dozen others, with Al Jazeera’s Abbu Azzam saying the strike targeted "a group of Palestinians in a busy market, killing one Palestinian and wounding at least 20 others."
Maktoob reported that the mosque strike also damaged nearby homes and civilian property, and that residents received evacuation warnings shortly before the attacks but only a limited amount of time to leave.
Ceasefire doubts, witness anger
Le Monde reported that a witness, Shehadeh Badawi, asked, "Is this a ceasefire?" after AFP saw dozens of Palestinians evacuating the area before the mosque was hit.
Le Monde also quoted Amir Abou Al-Amrain, director-general of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in the Gaza Strip, saying that Israeli forces had "completely destroyed" the mosque and that "The occupation advances on pretexts (...) to justify these crimes," while calling for urgent international intervention.
Arab News said local residents described bombardments continuing to close in on them despite the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10 last year, and it quoted artist and mother of four Maysa Yousef saying, "We have not seen a ceasefire for even a single day up to this moment."
In the same account, Yousef described warnings before a bombing and said, "When the warned families evacuated, Israel bombed the entire block," adding that "All 15 houses were completely destroyed."
What’s at stake next
Beyond the immediate destruction, Maktoob said Israeli occupation forces destroyed at least 815 mosques and partially damaged another 151 across Gaza in 2024, citing a report by the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
“destroyed at least 815 mosques and partially damaged another 151 across Gaza in 2024”
Arab News reported that Gaza’s religious affairs authority said Israeli attacks had destroyed 1,050 mosques and damaged a further 191 since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023, out of 1,275 mosques in the territory before the conflict.
Al Jazeera said Israel’s security cabinet approved a measure on Sunday that would, in theory, grant entry to the first members of an International Stabilization Force in Gaza as part of the US-brokered ceasefire that began last October.
The same Al Jazeera report tied the broader environment to continued settler violence and land confiscations in the occupied West Bank, including Wafa reporting that Israel issued military orders seizing about 200 dunums in the Jenin governorate and quoting Tareq Aghbaria on an increase in land confiscation orders over the past two days.
