At least 40 people have been killed and 60 injured in an Israeli attack on an encampment where displaced Palestinians had sought shelter in southern Gaza, civil emergency authorities in the enclave have said.
At least 20 tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis were struck in the early morning attack on Tuesday, Gaza’s Civil Defence said.
Al-Mawasi has been crowded with Palestinians sleeping in tents since the Israeli army designated the coastal area a “safe zone” during its ground invasions of Khan Younis and nearby Rafah.
Rescuers searching for survivors said they found craters of up to 9 metres (30 ft) deep at the tent camp, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing local sources.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the area, with fires burning while Israeli reconnaissance planes circled overhead.
A spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence stated the initial assessment of the scene suggested the attack was “one of the most heinous massacres in this frenzied war”.
The spokesperson added ambulance and civil defence teams were having difficulty retrieving the bodies of people killed in the attack.
Israeli authorities claimed they had struck “significant Hamas terrorists” who had been operating a command and control centre embedded inside the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X.
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, denied that its fighters were in the targeted area and accused Israeli authorities of perpetuating lies to justify their “ugly crimes”.
“The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or using these places for military purposes,” Hamas announced in a statement.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has cautioned that Israeli authorities…
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has called on the European Union to go back…
The chief of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has denounced Israel’s decision to…
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday it has killed four terrorists and…
A Russian rocket carrying a payload of satellites into orbit – including two from Iran…
Iran's foreign minister says the Islamic Republic reserves the right to respond to any violation…