The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday said that IDF and Israel Securities Authorities carried out an aerial strike at the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. The compound, according to Israeli side, the mosque was being used as a shelter and base by Palestinian armed groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Taking to X, the Israel Defence Forces said that the recent IDF intelligence inputs revealed that the mosque was used as a command centre to plan and carry out attacks against Israel.
#Israeli warplanes launched an air strike on Al-Ansar mosque in #Jenin refugee camp moments ago. A fire has broken out in the area.
This is the first time since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood that Israeli jets have struck the West Bank.
🇮🇱🇵🇸Several targets were attacked in Jenin pic.twitter.com/n357Sbx1ej
— Velerie (@velerie_a) October 21, 2023
In a post shared on X, the IDF stated, “The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin. Recent IDF intel revealed that the Mosque was used as a command center to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians.”
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the Israeli strike at the mosque killed two refugees and that the mosque was serving as the refugee camp.
Mahmoud Al-Saadi, the director of the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) in Jenin, was quoted by the agency saying that two young men, the identity of one of whom is yet to be confirmed, were killed in the airstrike.
Three more Palestinians were injured in the Israeli strike, the WAFA reported.