The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday said an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir al-Balah killed at least 26 people, while Israel's military said it had targeted Hamas militants.

"The number of martyrs brought to hospitals as a result of the occupation's targeting of displaced people in the Ibn Rushd school and Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque reached 26, with several more wounded," the health ministry said in a statement.

The Gaza civil defence agency had earlier said 21 people had been killed in the pre-dawn strike in central Gaza's Deir El-Balah area.

The Israeli military said it had conducted "precise strikes on Hamas terrorists" who were operating within command and control centres embedded in Ibn Rushd School and the Shuhada al-Aqsa Mosque in the area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Hamas rejects Israeli accusations it uses civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and mosques for military purposes.

The strikes on the mosque and the school came as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary, and as Israel has been expanding its actions in Lebanon.

Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has also displaced nearly all of the enclave's 2.3 million people, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Israel had struck 27 houses, schools and displacement shelters across Gaza in the past 48 hours.

"These crimes take place amid difficult health conditions in Gaza Strip, and where the remaining hospitals are unable to provide good medical and health care as the number of injured and patients increase everyday," it said.

The army on Saturday issued new evacuation orders in parts of Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, just north of Deir al-Balah, forcing hundreds of families to leave their houses. The military statement said its forces aimed to operate against Hamas militants who waged attacks from the territory.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks pushed into the northern Gaza areas of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia overnight, and planes hit several houses, killing at least 20 people, according to medics.

The Israeli military said its forces had encircled the area Jabalia, the focus of its operations.

In one air strike, 10 people were killed in one house, and five others in another strike on a second home and residents described it as one of the worst nights in many months.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, to fight Hamas militants, dismantle military infrastructure and prevent Hamas from regrouping. (Agencies)