Israeli military encircles northern Gaza refugee camp after saying it sees signs of Hamas regrouping

By Abeer Salman, Irene Nasser and Ibrahim Dahman, CNN

(CNN) — Israel’s military says it has encircled Jabalya, northern Gaza and launched a new ground operation, after seeing signs of Hamas rebuilding, despite nearly a year of fighting and strikes in the territory.

As attention shifts to Lebanon after Israeli forces escalated their attacks on the Hezbollah militant group, Israel continues to operate across Gaza and is again focusing on an area it previously said was rid of Hamas.

Elsewhere in Gaza, at least 25 people are confirmed dead after Israeli airstrikes hit a mosque and a school in the center of the territory, hospital officials say. Israel said Hamas was embedded in both buildings.

Israel carried out airstrikes overnight Saturday into Sunday in northern Gaza including against what the military said were “weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure sites, terrorist cells, and additional military infrastructure sites.”

In a statement, the military said it had detected the presence of Hamas members there, as well as efforts by them “to rebuild its operational capabilities in the area,” and was moving forward with the operation to “dismantle.”

Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said it was engaged in “fierce fights” with Israeli forces in northern Gaza.

Jabalya is a densely populated refugee camp that was among the first places targeted early on in Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks one year ago.

Dozens of families in the area have packed up their belongings and fled once again after warnings from the Israeli military of the fresh ground operation in Jabalya, which is home to Gaza’s biggest refugee camp.

The Israeli military issued a fresh evacuation order for residents in northern Gaza, adding it had expanded the scope of the “humanitarian area” in Al-Mawasi.

“People left their homes this morning, and they don’t know where to go, carrying some simple belongings. There are no means of transportation,” Abu Alaa Asaf, a resident of Beit Lahiya, told CNN.

“We heard the sounds of explosions all night long as if the war started today,” Asaf said

Some residents of northern Gaza are refusing to move, saying there is no safe place left in the enclave.

Mohammad Ibrahim, 36, from Jabalya, told CNN: “I, along with my two sons, have stayed in Jabalya and will not go anywhere. There is no safe place in Gaza, and death is the same here or there.”

Jabalya is home to Palestinians who have been displaced multiple times during the Israel-Gaza conflict. The camp has already been targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) several times during the war.

In May, CNN reported that the Israeli military had renewed its fighting in northern Gaza where it had claimed, in January, to have dismantled Hamas’ command structure. During that period, the Israeli military said Hamas was trying to “reassemble” in the area, raising doubts about whether Israel’s goal of eradicating the group in the enclave is realistic.

In the separate incident in central Gaza, a mosque was targeted by Israeli forces early Sunday, killing at least 25 people, while another strike on a school killed four people, hospital officials said,

CNN video showed chaotic scenes as bodies were pulled from rubble after the overnight attack on the religious site in Deir el Balah, where Palestinians were sheltering.

“The mosque was a shelter for displaced people, there are no militants or anything inside,” said Nabil Nadda, who was nearby when the strike happened. “Just people who have no shelter, tents, or homes so they sheltered in the mosque.”

The Israeli military confirmed it carrying out strikes on both sites, calling them “precise” and said were targeting Hamas “command and control” centers.

The renewed fighting comes on the eve of the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which saw Hamas kill around 1,200 people in Israel and seize more than 250 hostages.

The Israeli offensive that followed in Gaza – which Israel says is aimed at destroying Hamas – has killed more than 41,000 people and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

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