DUBAI, May 23. /TASS/. At least 16 Palestinians, including 10 children, were killed in Israeli bombing of the Fatima al-Zahra Mosque in the north of Gaza City, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported.

According to eyewitnesses, the victims were mostly displaced women and children, who took shelter in the mosque.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.