Over 70 killed in a day as Israeli bombardment targets mosque, sports centre

Over 70 killed in a day as Israeli bombardment targets mosque, sports centre

Gaza: At least 71 Palestinians have been killed and 112 wounded over the latest 24-hour in an Israeli strike on a sports centre in Gaza City and Saad bin Abi Waqqas Mosque in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Friday.

About 125,000 worshippers have performed the morning prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, according to the Islamic Waqf Department in the city.

Israeli forces obstructed access to some worshippers by erecting barricades at the entrance of the mosque and of the Old City of Jerusalem, Al Jazeera correspondents reported.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said several checkpoints on roads to Jerusalem were closed by the Israeli military, preventing Palestinians from travelling from the occupied West Bank.

They included the Tayasir checkpoint east of Tubas as well as roads leading to Jericho, the agency said.

Meanwhile, Protesters demanding an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza have interrupted a fundraiser for US President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign in New York.

Demonstrators shouted slogans at Joe Biden, saying he has blood on his hands, in the event joined by two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.