An Israeli strike hit a school housing a field hospital Saturday, killing at least 30 people and wounding more than 100.

The Israeli military said it carried out a strike on the school targeting Hamas “terrorists” operating from there.

“A short while ago, the targeting of Khadija school, which had a field medical unit inside it, in Deir el-Balah area, resulted in 30 martyrs and more than 100 wounded,” the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said in a statement.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said that the school was housing about 4,000 displaced people who had taken refuge there.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike was carried out following “precise … intelligence of terrorists operating in a Hamas compound and control centre inside the Khadija school”.

“In parallel, the terrorists developed and stored large quantities of weapons inside the compound.”

The field hospital located inside the school belonged to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, according to hospital director Khalil al-Daqran.

It came after Israel ordered the evacuation of a part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of a planned strike on Khan Younis on Saturday.

The evacuation order was made in response to rocket fire that Israel said originated from the area. The military said it planned an operation against Hamas militants in the city, including parts of Muwasi, the crowded tent camp in an area where Israel has told thousands of Palestinians to seek refuge throughout the war.

The US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel are scheduled to meet in Italy to discuss the ongoing hostage and cease-fire negotiations in the coming days.

CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Mossad director David Barnea and Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel on Sunday, according to officials.

It’s the second evacuation order issued in a week that has included striking part of the humanitarian zone, a 60-square-kilometre (roughly 20-square-mile) blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. Israel expanded the zone in May to take in people fleeing Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population at the time had crowded.

According to Israeli estimates, about 1.8 million Palestinians are currently sheltering there after being uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel’s punishing air and ground campaign. In November, the military said the area could still be struck and that it was “not a safe zone, but it is a safer place than any other” in Gaza.

Four mosques are being assessed by the Charity Commission after hosting an Islamist extremist preacher.

The watchdog launched an investigation this week over events which featured Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, a Pakistan-based scholar who toured the UK earlier this month.

Mr Zaheer has previously called for apostates who denounce Islam to be killed, defended the use of sexual slaves by Muslims and said Jews and Christians “cannot be our friends”.

His remarks prompted calls from the Government’s extremism adviser for the preacher to be banned from entering Britain in future for the sake of public safety.

All four of the mosques are registered with the Charity Commission, meaning they enjoy tax breaks and reputational advantages.

Mr Zaheer spoke at the Umm-Ul-Qura Islamic Centre in Bradford on July 12 and the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith mosque in Birmingham on July 17.

He then addressed the Makkah mosque in Manchester, run by the Makki Masjid charity, on July 19, and the Muhammadi Mosque, managed by the AlHikmah Project charity, in Bradford, on July 22.

In footage from 2012, Mr Zaheer said: “Apostates [don’t] have the right to live on Earth. This is my own belief and I can never abandon this belief.”

He said of female prisoners of war in 2021: “Islam designed a solution to the problem – that they are distributed to the soldiers in an organised manner, or are sold as slaves.”

In 2010, Mr Zaheer said Islam “of course” permitted sexual slavery. Two years later, he told a rally in Lahore: “As you know that Allah Almighty has said in his holy book, Jews and Christians cannot be our friends.

“Enemies of Pakistan will be crushed. India will be disgraced. America too will be disgraced; and Israel also will be humiliated.”

‘Dangerous and inflammatory’

Lord Walney, the Government’s adviser on political violence, said Mr Zaheer’s “dangerous and inflammatory” views were “utterly at odds with British values”.

“There must surely be a strong case for the Government to refuse Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer entry to the UK in the interests of public safety,” the peer said.

The Charity Commission confirmed it was “assessing concerns” after the National Secular Society complained about the four charities linked to the mosques that hosted Mr Zaheer.

Megan Manson, the society’s head of campaigns, said: “It’s galling to see tax breaks handed to mosques that host fundamentalists with divisive agendas when this clearly serves no public benefit.”

Mr Zaheer said: “Firstly, I have done many lecture tours of the UK and various other countries. Whenever and wherever I have spoken to Muslim communities living as minorities in non-Muslim countries, whether previously here in the UK or most recently, I have always stressed the importance of them following the law of the land.

“Secondly, I have delivered hundreds, if not thousands, of speeches over the years. If certain snippets of my many speeches are going to be misconstrued, misinterpreted or transposed in a way that ignores the socio-political or historical context, then this is entirely selective and subjective criticism.

“Finally, I would like to reiterate that I have always emphasised the need for Muslims living in the UK to follow the law of the land. This is the only way to ensure a cohesive and inclusive society and that is exactly what I always encourage all the Muslims in the UK to contribute towards.”

In a joint statement, the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith mosque and the Makki Masjid charity said their organisations worked towards “betterment, peace and harmony”.

They said all their speakers must “respect the law of the land” and that their reputations were checked in advance but it was not “practically possible” to vet all of their historic speeches.

The statement added: “If someone draws our attention towards a specific objection or notable matter that goes against our principles, then we do thoroughly investigate the matter within our organisation to ensure that the said content is not sensationalised, misconstrued, misinterpreted or transposed in a way that ignores its actual context.”

A Metropolitan Police officer has admitted to stealing money from a man who died after collapsing.

Pc Craig Carter, of Harlow, Essex, stole around £115 from Claudio Gaetani in September 2022.

Wearing a dark suit, the 51-year-old appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday to plead guilty to the charge, which stated he “took for his own use money from a wallet received by him in evidence in relation to a sudden death”.

Judge Daniel Fugallo said: “I have to make absolutely clear that an immediate custodial sentence seems the likely outcome in this case.”

The judge granted Carter unconditional bail ahead of his sentencing at the same court on Sept 13.

The judge stipulated: “Neither the ordering of the report nor the fact that I am granting you bail should be taken as any indication to the type of sentence you will receive.”

Carter, who works for the Met’s North Area Command Unit, which covers Enfield and Haringey, is suspended from duty.

‘Woefully short’

Tetteh Turkson, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Carter fell “woefully short” of the public’s expectations of a police officer.

He added: “The fact Carter thought he could freely steal from a victim who had sadly passed away is not only disturbing, but deeply disrespectful to the victim’s family. Our thoughts remain with them at this time.

“After collaborative work from the CPS and Metropolitan Police Service, Carter was left with no option but to plead guilty and face the consequences of his actions.”

Mr Gaetani, a filmmaker and actor from Italy, died on Sep 8 2022 after suffering a heart attack during the rush hour commute while cycling to meet friends.

Det Supt Marco Bardetti said the evidence against Carter “could not be denied”.

“In September 2022, Pc Carter was responsible for looking after a man who had sadly died in the street, as well as taking responsibility for his personal possessions,” he added.

“A family, struggling to come to terms with the death of a loved one, should not be put in a position where they have to make a complaint against an officer, suspecting that they have taken money.

“The Met is not an organisation that will tolerate such behaviour.”