More than a dozen Palestinians have been killed and another 60 were wounded after an airstrike on a designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, media outlets reported citing Gaza’s ministry of health. Despite designating the area as a humanitarian zone, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they were targeting a Hamas command and control center in al-Mawasi, just west of Khan Younis.
According to Mohammed al-Mughair, a Gaza Civil Defense official, the death toll stands at 40 as of early Tuesday. Ahmad al-Naqa, a fellow official for the same organization, explained that the toll is an estimate and that Gaza’s Health Ministry reports the final numbers. Other reports put the toll at 19. The IDF claims that they killed three Hamas commanders after targeting a “number of senior” figures they say were “directly involved” in the October 7 attack.
Hamas has not confirmed these deaths and called the IDF’s claims a “blatant lie”. They added that they do not use civilian areas for military purposes.
The al-Mawasi camp is a designated area for displaced Palestinians, many of whom were reportedly sleeping during the early hours of Tuesday when the IDF struck their camp. The camp is a remote coastal area located between Khan Younis and Rafah in southeastern Gaza and has been designated as a humanitarian zone by the IDF for months now. It is also the last IDF-designated safe zone.
“People flew,” Eyad Madi, an eyewitness of the bombing, told reporters. “It’s indescribable… We had to dig our children out from under the sand.”
“I was lying inside the tent trying to sleep, and suddenly there was a loud sound of bombing, and we didn’t know what happened,” added Rami al-Shareef, a father of three. “There was the sound of three missiles. I went out with all the people in a panic after I checked on my three children and my wife, and they were fine.”
In addition to those who were killed by the bombing, homes were also destroyed. The Washington Post reported that unverified videos following the strike showed people digging in the sand for survivors with their bare hands.
According to the Gaza Health ministry, more than 41,000 people have been killed and nearly 95,000 have been injured since the war between Hamas and Israel first began in October. Israel estimates that some 1,200 people were killed in October by Hamas.