A minimum of 40 killed in Israeli strike on tent camp in Gaza humanitarian zone, Palestinians say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the battle in Gaza killed a minimum of 40 individuals and wounded 60 others early Tuesday, Palestinian officers stated. Israel stated it focused “vital” Hamas militants, allegations denied by the militant group.

It was among the many deadliest strikes but in Mawasi, a sprawl of crowded tent camps alongside the Gaza coast that Israel designated as a humanitarian zone for lots of of hundreds of civilians to hunt shelter from the Israel-Hamas war.

The Civil Protection, first responders working below the Hamas-run authorities, stated it recovered 40 our bodies from the strike and was nonetheless in search of individuals. It stated whole households have been killed of their tents.

An Related Press digital camera operator noticed three giant craters on the scene, the place first responders and displaced individuals have been sifting by means of the sand and rubble with backyard instruments and their naked arms by the sunshine of cellphones. They pulled physique elements from the sand, together with what seemed to be a human leg.

Attaf al-Shaar, who was displaced from the southern metropolis of Rafah, stated the strike occurred simply after midnight and brought about a hearth.

“The individuals have been buried within the sand. They have been retrieved as physique elements,” she advised an Related Press reporter on the scene.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, considered one of three hospitals to obtain casualties, stated round two dozen our bodies have been introduced in from the strike.

The Israeli army stated it had struck Hamas militants who have been working in a command-and-control middle. It stated its forces used exact munitions, aerial surveillance and different means to keep away from civilian casualties.

Israel says it tries to keep away from harming civilians all through the battle, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault. It blames Hamas for his or her deaths as a result of the militants usually function in residential areas and are recognized to place tunnels, rocket launchers and different infrastructure close to houses, faculties and mosques.

Hamas launched a press release denying any militants have been within the space. Neither Israel nor Hamas offered proof to substantiate their claims.

The battle has brought about huge destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, usually a number of occasions. Israeli evacuation orders, which now cowl round 90% of the territory, have pushed lots of of hundreds of individuals into Mawasi, a sprawling line of squalid tent camps alongside the coast.

Help teams have struggled to offer even fundamental companies in Mawasi, and Israel has sometimes struck targets there regardless of designating it as a humanitarian zone.

Gaza’s Well being Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza because the battle started. It doesn’t differentiate between fighters and civilians in its depend.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 individuals, principally civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack. They kidnapped one other 250 individuals and are nonetheless holding round 100 after releasing a lot of the relaxation in change for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel throughout a weeklong cease-fire final November. Round a 3rd of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead.

The US, Egypt and Qatar have spent a lot of this yr making an attempt to dealer an settlement for a cease-fire and the discharge of the hostages, however the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israel and Hamas have accused one another of creating new and unacceptable calls for.

The battle has plunged Gaza right into a humanitarian disaster, and humanitarian teams have struggled to provide aid due to ongoing preventing, Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of regulation and order. The worldwide authority on the severity of starvation crises stated in June that the territory is at high risk of famine.

The primary United Nations company offering help to Palestinians stated Israeli troops stopped a convoy collaborating in a polio vaccination campaign for greater than eight hours on Monday, regardless of it coordinating with the army. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini stated the staffers who have been held had been collaborating within the marketing campaign in northern Gaza and Gaza Metropolis.

“The convoy was stopped at gun level simply after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN workers,” he wrote on the social platform X. “Heavy harm was brought on by bulldozers to the UN armoured autos.”

He stated the workers and the convoy later returned to a U.N. base, however it was unclear if a polio vaccination marketing campaign would happen Tuesday in northern Gaza.

The Israeli army didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The vaccination drive, launched after medical doctors found the first polio case within the Palestinian enclave in 25 years, goals to vaccinate 640,000 youngsters throughout a battle that has destroyed the well being care system.