STORY: :: Palestinians survey the damage after an Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in central Gaza
:: July 17, 2024
:: Nuseirat, Gaza
:: Zaid Daghish, Nuseirat resident
"What did they want from the mosque, what is in the mosque? The mosque has been closed since the beginning of the war, no one prays inside, what did the mosque do to deserve this? What did our children do? We are really tired, we swear that we are very tired, to the Arab world, we are very tired. I swear to God we are tired."
Palestinians were seen rummaging through the rubble of the damaged area, some clearing it and others probing for belongings.
Israeli forces pounded areas in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least nine Palestinians, according to health officials, while Israeli tanks carried out a limited advance further into Rafah in the south.
Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.
On Tuesday (July 16), the military said it had eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas' military wing, with about 14,000 fighters killed or captured since the start of the war.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
