GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency has said that an Israeli strike on a humanitarian zone in the south of the Palestinian territory killed around 40 people and injured 60 others, with the Israeli military claiming it had targeted Hamas in the area.
The attack targeted Al-Mawasi — in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis — which was designated a humanitarian and safe zone by the Israeli army early in the war, with tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there.
War on Gaza
However, Israel’s army has occasionally conducted operations in and around the safe zone, including a strike in July that it said killed Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, and which Gaza health officials said killed over 90 people.
Gaza civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughair said that early Tuesday that “40 martyrs and 60 wounded were recovered and shifted” to nearby hospitals after the overnight attack. “We are still working to recover fifteen missing people as a result of targeting the tents of the displaced in Khan Yunis,” Mughair said.
In another statement, civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal stated that people sheltering in the camp had not been warned of the attack, saying a shortage of tools as well as equipment was hindering rescue operations in the area.
“Over 20 to 40 tents were completely destroyed,” he added, saying the attack left behind “three deep craters.” “There are entire families who completely disappeared under the sand in the Mawasi Khan Yunis butchery.”
Ceasefire Talks
The Israeli military claimed in a statement early Tuesday that its aircraft had “struck” Hamas men inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis. However, Hamas rejected the claims of Israel and termed it a “a blatant lie.” Israel’s brutal offensive in Gaza has so far killed around 40,988 people, Gaza health ministry said. The UN human rights office says most of the dead are children and women.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating in efforts to forge a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, but talks remain delayed. Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip as part of any agreement, but Israel insists forces must remain along the Gaza-Egypt border.
