24 killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza mosque, school

At least 24 people lost their lives and 93 others wounded when Israeli airstrikes targeted a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip early on Sunday morning, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said.

The strikes on the mosque and the school, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, came as the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary.

In its own statement, the Israeli military said it conducted "precise strikes on Hamas terrorists" who were operating within command and control centers embedded in Ibn Rushd School and the Shuhada al-Aqsa Mosque in the area of Deir al Balah.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Iran that it might end up looking like Gaza or Beirut if the Islamic republic was considering an attempt to harm Israel.

"The Iranians did not touch the air force's capabilities -- no aircraft was damaged, no squadron was taken out of order," Gallant said in a statement, referring to Iran's recent missile strike on Israel that hit two bases of the Israeli air force.

"Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action should take a look at (our achievements) in Gaza and Beirut."

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 41,870 people have been dead in the nearly year-long war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll includes 45 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 97,166 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began last October 7.

The UN secretary-general has called for an immediate end to the "shocking violence and bloodshed" in Gaza and Lebanon in a statement ahead of the Gaza war anniversary.