Israel kills Palestinian, destroys mosque in Gaza

Israel has attacked Gaza, killing at least one Palestinian, wounding more than 12, and destroying a mosque and tents sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians.

Israeli jets struck the Al-Muttaqin Mosque, near the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building in Gaza City, on Tuesday.

“Israeli warplanes carried out a series of air strikes focusing on central and northern Gaza”, said Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah.

“Yes, the whole area was warned, but a very narrow window of time was given for people to take precautionary measures, “said Abu Azzoum.

Israel killed one person in a separate strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp.

“The strike targeted a group of Palestinians in a busy market, killing one Palestinian and wounding at least 20 others,” Abbu Azzam said after speaking to health officials.

“People are caught in an endless cycle of fear that persists, in case of any further strikes [by] Israel… later tonight,” he said.

On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet approved a measure 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.

Meanwhile, eight Palestinians fled their home in Abu Najim, near Bethlehem, after Israeli settlers set fire to the building, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Settlers also torched a car and sprayed graffiti on the walls of the building before setting it ablaze, according to locals.

There has been a rise in settler violence targeting Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as lynch mobs attack people in their own homes or in public spaces.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are confiscating more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency, which reported Israel issuing military orders seizing about 200 dunums (20 hectares or 49 acres) of land from towns in the Jenin governorate.

Tareq Aghbaria, a Jenin settlement affairs official, told Wafa that Jenin has recently seen an increase in land confiscation orders – particularly over the past two days – mainly concentrated in southern areas, such as Arrabeh, Qabatiya, and Misilya.

“The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said that 14 of the orders allocate land for the construction and expansion of military roads with a total length exceeding 11.3 kilometers [7 miles] in the southeastern, southwestern, and southern parts of the governorate, serving a network of new colonial outposts approved by the Israeli government on lands in the governorate,” Wafa reported.

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