Israeli air strikes level Gaza City mosque and target central market, leaving one dead and over 14 injured

Israeli warplanes launched a series of air strikes across central and northern Gaza on Tuesday, destroying a prominent mosque, flattening makeshift shelters for displaced families, and causing multiple civilian casualties.

An air strike struck the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Gaza City near the YMCA building and Yarmouk Stadium, an area where dozens of displaced Palestinians had set up tents after losing their homes. The explosion completely leveled the mosque, damaged surrounding residential properties, and left hundreds of displaced residents without shelter. According to Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs figures from 2024, Israeli forces had destroyed at least 815 mosques and damaged 151 others across Gaza, numbers that have continued to rise.

Casualties were reported in several distinct attacks across the enclave. In central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, an air strike hit a crowd in a busy market, killing Ahmed Hussein Kafina and wounding nine others. Elsewhere in Gaza City, an Israeli drone targeted the roof of a residential building belonging to the Al-Kolak family on Al-Wehda Street in the Rimal neighborhood, injuring three people.

Separately, two Palestinians sustained gunshot wounds east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. While residents in some targeted areas received evacuation warnings prior to the strikes, local sources noted that the notices provided very little time to leave safely.

The latest wave of military operations comes despite ongoing international efforts surrounding a ceasefire framework. On Sunday, Israel's security cabinet approved a measure allowing the initial contingent of an International Stabilization Force to enter Gaza as part of a U.S.-brokered arrangement. Concurrently, violence was reported in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that eight Palestinians were forced to flee their home in the Abu Najim area near Bethlehem after Israeli settlers set fire to a vehicle, spray-painted graffiti, and torched the residence. According to Palestinian medical sources, the overall toll from the conflict since October 7, 2023, has risen to 73,329 fatalities and 174,009 injuries.