Just hours before the ground offensive in Gaza, an Israeli air strike reportedly killed some 15 people and wounded dozens more when rockets hit a mosque in Beit Lahiya. It was the bloodiest single attack leading up to the incursion. It was not immediately clear why the mosque was hit, but Israel has targeted other mosques in the past saying they were used for command posts and storing weapons. Hundreds of Palestinians were reported killed in air strikes before the tanks and infantry moved in, while thousands more have been wounded.

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