Israeli airstrikes destroy 2 mosques in southern Gaza

By Hosni Nedim

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israeli warplanes on Thursday destroyed two mosques in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The airstrike targeted mosques in the Musbah area, a local source told Anadolu.

Since the onset of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli military has destroyed 814 mosques in the enclave, with an additional 148 mosques reported damaged, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

Israeli aircraft targeted a school-turned-shelter in Block 12 of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, according to witnesses.

Witnesses said there were no casualties from the attack as displaced persons had already evacuated the school due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes and repeated fire from Israeli drones.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,400 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 99,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.