Israeli Airstrike On Gaza Humanitarian Zone Kills At Least 40 Persons, Injures Scores Of Others

An early morning Israeli airstrike on a crowded tent camp in Gaza’s Muwasi district has resulted in the deaths of at least 40 people and left 60 others injured, according to Palestinian officials.

The tent camp, which houses Palestinians displaced by the ongoing conflict, was designated by Israel as a humanitarian zone intended to provide shelter for civilians affected by the war.

The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted “significant” Hamas militants, but the militant group has denied these claims.

AP reports that Civil Defense, operating under the Hamas-run government, reported recovering 40 bodies from a recent strike and is continuing the search for more victims.

They indicated that entire families were killed in their tents.

An AP camera operator at the scene observed three large craters, with first responders and displaced individuals sifting through sand and debris using garden tools and their hands, illuminated only by mobile phone lights.

Among the debris, they found severed body parts, including what appeared to be a human leg.

Attaf al-Shaar, who was displaced from Rafah, described the attack occurring shortly after midnight and resulting in a fire. “The people were buried in the sand. They were retrieved as body parts,” she recounted to an AP reporter on-site.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the three hospitals receiving casualties, reported that about two dozen bodies were brought in from the strike.

The Israeli military claimed it targeted Hamas militants operating from a command-and-control center, using precise munitions and aerial surveillance to minimize civilian casualties.

Israel asserts it aims to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for civilian deaths due to their practice of operating near residential areas and placing infrastructure close to homes, schools, and mosques.

Hamas, however, denied the presence of militants in the targeted area, and neither side provided evidence to support their claims.

The ongoing war has led to widespread destruction and displaced approximately 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. Israeli evacuation orders, now affecting around 90% of the territory, have forced hundreds of thousands into Muwasi, a series of overcrowded tent camps along the coast.

Humanitarian organizations have faced significant challenges in Muwasi, and Israeli strikes have continued there despite its designation as a humanitarian zone.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that over 40,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, without distinguishing between fighters and civilians.