Deir Al-Balah, Oct 6: An Israeli strike on a mosque in the Gaza Strip early Sunday killed at least 19 people, Palestinian officials said, as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Beirut in a widening war with Iran-allied groups across the region.

Displaced people were sheltering at the mosque that was struck near the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah. A further four people were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people near the town.

The Israeli military said both strikes targeted Hamas group, without providing evidence.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue. Hospital records showed that the dead from the strike on the mosque were all men.

Israel is still battling Hamas in Gaza a year after the group's attack on Israel, and has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel has also vowed to strike Iran itself after Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

The widening conflict risks drawing in the United States, which has provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel, as well as US-allied Arab countries that host American forces. Iran-allied groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have already joined in with long-distance strikes on Israel.

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Tehran: Iran has announced the cancellation of all flights from its airports starting from 9 p.m. on Sunday until 6 a.m. local time (02:30 GMT) on Monday, according to state media reports.

The decision was made due to operational restrictions, a spokesperson for Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation stated, without providing additional details.

The restrictions come after Iran launched missile attacks on Israel on Tuesday, a move that escalated tensions in the region. Israel has vowed to respond to the attacks, further intensifying the conflict.

The suspension of flights follows ongoing attacks by Israel on Gaza, which have spread to Lebanon.