Gaza Crisis: Israel Strikes Mosque In Jenin Refugee Camp

‘The airstrike targeted a mosque associated with the Jenin Brigade, labeled an “underground terrorist group” by Israel’

Gaza Crisis: Israel Strikes Mosque In Jenin Refugee Camp

Following the announcement of increasing bombings on Gaza in advance of an intended ground invasion, Israeli soldiers turned their attention to the Jenin refugee camp located in the occupied West Bank.

According to Al Jazeera on Sunday, the Israeli government has designated the Jenin Brigade as an "underground terrorist group," and the bombing was directed towards a mosque affiliated with them.

Israel called the Jenin Brigade an "underground terrorist group," and according to Israeli authorities, the Al-Ansar mosque was linked to them. Israel also claimed that they had been "neutralized," although it did not specify how many people were killed in the attack.

Three people were injured and one person was slain in the strike, according to Mahmoud Al-Saadi, the director of the Red Crescent in Jenin, who was cited by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Since October 7, when Hamas gunmen broke into Israel and killed at least 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's severe bombing of the Gaza Strip in reprisal has resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians and included over 1,000 children.

The airstrike caught locals "off guard," but journalist Sara Khairat for Al Jazeera says there could be more to come.

According to witnesses who talked with Khairat live from Ramallah, "They saw an F-fighter jet in the sky, they heard it, and then the Israeli army came out to confirm it was an air strike."

According to her, Israeli authorities discovered a network of tunnels at the mosque and took equipment, drones, and ammo, leading to a two-day Israeli siege in July.

Some locals got text messages on their phones after the incident alerting them not to work with the Jenin Brigade, one of the biggest and most well-liked organisations in the West Bank.

Additionally, the ads advised keeping kids inside, according to Al Jazeera.

Unverified rumors further state that an Israeli policeman called locals, requesting that they give in their "youngsters" to the police by seven in the morning.

Since 2002, Israel has been isolating the Palestinian camp of Jenin; examples of this include the murder of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh last year.

But as a result of Israel's most recent invasions, refugees who were previously displaced in Gaza are being forced to relocate as Palestinians in Jenin are once again exposed to aerial terror in crowded areas.