DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in its widening war on Iran-allied militant groups across the region.

Palestinian medical officials say an apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza.

Eyewitnesses said the number of casualties could rise as the mosque was being used to house displaced people. The Israeli military said in a statement it “conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control centre embedded in a structure that previously served as the ‘Shuhada al-Aqsa’ Mosque in the area of Deir al Balah”.

Strikes described as the most severe of conflict so far, with some landing near airport amid foreign evacuation flights; Israeli military says mosque used as Hamas command centre

An apparent Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed at least 18 people in central Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said. The strike hit a mosque sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah,

An alleged Israeli airstrike killed 18 people in central Gaza on Sunday morning, Palestinian medical authorities said. The strike hit a mosque which was sheltering displaced people near the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah,