Tents sheltering Palestinians within the al-Mawasi space of Khan Younis struck in assault, Gaza’s Civil Defence says.
A minimum of 40 individuals have been killed and 60 injured in an Israeli assault on a tent encampment for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, civil emergency authorities within the enclave have mentioned.
A minimum of 20 tents within the al-Mawasi space of Khan Younis had been struck within the early morning assault on Tuesday, Gaza’s Civil Defence mentioned.
Al-Mawasi has been overcrowded with Palestinians sleeping in tents for the reason that Israeli military designated the coastal space a “secure zone” throughout its floor invasions of Khan Younis and close by Rafah.
Rescuers trying to find survivors mentioned they discovered craters of as much as 9 metres (30 ft) deep on the tent camp, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing native sources.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes within the space, with fires burning whereas Israeli reconnaissance planes circled overhead.
A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence mentioned that the preliminary evaluation of the scene recommended the assault was “probably the most heinous massacres on this frenzied warfare”.
The spokesperson mentioned ambulance and civil defence crews had been having issue retrieving the our bodies of individuals killed within the assault.
Israeli authorities mentioned they’d struck “vital Hamas terrorists” who had been working at a command and management centre embedded contained in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.
“The terrorists superior and carried out terror assaults in opposition to [Israeli army] troops and the state of Israel,” the Israel Overseas Ministry mentioned in a press release posted on X.
“Previous to the strike, quite a few steps had been taken to mitigate the chance of harming civilians, together with the usage of exact munitions, aerial surveillance, and extra means.”
Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, denied that its fighters had been current within the focused space and accused Israeli authorities of perpetuating lies to justify their “ugly crimes”.
“The resistance has denied a number of occasions that any of its members exist inside civilian gatherings or utilizing these locations for navy functions,” Hamas in a press release.
