Israeli strikes continue to hit northern Gaza, southern Beirut

At least 24 people were killed 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 near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, came as the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary.

In a 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.

In southern Beirut, a huge fireball lit up the night sky and plumes of smoke rose over the city early on Sunday.

After a devastating yearlong conflict in Gaza, Israel has now turned its focus northward to Hezbollah.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes.

The NNA said targets included a petrol station and a warehouse for medical supplies.

"The strikes were like an earthquake," shopkeeper Mehdi Zeiter, 60, said.

In the Sabra area, near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments of the conflict.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli forces with artillery after they tried to infiltrate toward Khallat Shuaib in Blida, in southern Lebanon.

Agencies via Xinhua