Strike on Gaza IDP camp: death toll rises to 40, 60 more wounded
Kyiv • UNN
At least 40 people were killed in a strike on a camp in Khan Younis. Israel claims that it attacked the Hamas command center, not civilians, while Hamas denies the presence of militants.
The Gaza Civil Defense Agency said that at least 40 people were killed and 60 others were injured in an Israeli army strike on the Khan Younis tent camp in southern Gaza. In turn, the Israeli army claims that it attacked the Hamas command center. This was reported by France24, according to UNN.
Details
The strike was on al-Mawassa in the main southern city of Gaza, Khan Younis, which at the beginning of the war was declared a safe zone by the Israeli military, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians took refuge.
However, the Israeli military periodically conducts operations in and around the area, including a strike in July that killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, according to the Israeli military, and killed more than 90 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mohammed al-Mughair told AFP early Tuesday that "40 martyrs and 60 wounded were pulled out and transferred" to nearby hospitals after the night strike.
"Our crews are still working to find the 15 people who went missing after the shelling of displaced people's tents in Mawas, Khan Younis," added Mugair.
In a separate statement, civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said that people hiding in the camp had not been warned of the strike, and that a lack of tools and equipment was hampering rescue operations.
The Israeli military, in turn, said that its planes "struck Hamas terrorists operating in a command and control center located in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.
"Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, including the designated humanitarian zone, to carry out terrorist activities against the State of Israel and IDF forces," the statement said.
On Tuesday, Hamas said in a statement that claims that its fighters were present at the site of the strike were "blatant lies.
During the war, Israel repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields, which the group denies.
Recall
On Tuesday, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on a tent city in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The camp was located in a designated humanitarian zone. According to local residents, at least four rockets hit the camp, causing a fire.
