24 killed in Israeli strike in central Gaza

At least 24 Palestinians were killed and 93 others wounded during Israel's bombing of a mosque and a school in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, reported Xinhua, quoting media reports.

The Israeli army bombed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Mosque adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and the Ibn Rushd School, as the mosque and the school house hundreds of displaced persons, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Sunday that the Israeli Air Force conducted a "precise strike" on Hamas militants who were operating inside a command-and-control center embedded within a compound that previously served as the 'Ibn Rushd' School in the area of Deir al Balah.

Also, the Air Force conducted a "precise strike" on Hamas militants who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded in a structure that previously served as the 'Shuhada al-Aqsa' Mosque in the area of Deir al Balah, it added.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,825, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday.