Dozens Of People Killed And Injured By Israeli Airstrikes On Refugee Camps In Southern Gaza

Israeli military operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - At least 65 people were killed and injured by Israeli airstrikes against the southern Gaza Palestinian refugee camp, the enclave's civil emergency service said on Tuesday morning, while the Israeli military said it had targeted the Hamas command center.

Residents and medics said the tent camp near Khan Younis in the Al-Mawasi area, a designated humanitarian zone, was attacked by at least four missiles. The camp is packed with Palestinian refugees who have fled elsewhere in the region.

Ambulances are racing between tent camps and nearby hospitals, while Israeli jets can still be heard overhead, residents said.

Gaza's civil emergency services said at least 20 tents were on fire, with missiles causing craters as deep as nine meters (30 feet). It said the attack caused 65 casualties, including women and children, but gave no details of deaths and injuries.

There was no immediate comment from the health ministry of Gaza, which compiled the number of victims. Previously, the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency said 40 Palestinians were killed.

"Our team is still moving the martyrs and injured victims from the targeted area. This is like a new Israeli massacre," said a Gaza civil emergency official.

The official added that rescue teams had struggled to find victims who might have been buried.

Separately, the Israeli military said they "the attack targeted a significant Hamas operating inside the command and control center embedded in the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis."

"The terrorists advanced and carried out terror attacks against IDF forces and the Israeli state," the statement said, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Hamas himself denied Israel's accusations of the presence of gunmen in the targeted area, rejecting accusations they were exploiting civilian areas for military purposes.

"This is a clear lie aimed at justifying this bad crime. The resistance has denied several times that any of its members are in a civil meeting or using these places for military purposes," Hamas said in a statement.

It is known that nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been forced to flee their homes at least once, and not a few have fled 10 times.

The war was sparked by an attack by a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas to southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and holding about 250 people hostage, according to an Israeli tally.

In turn, Israel carried out a retaliatory campaign to Gaza, holding blockades, airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza.

Separately, Gaza's health authorities confirmed on Monday that the death toll of Palestinians as a result of the Israeli attack had reached 40,988, while 94,825 others were injured, the majority of the victims were women and children, citing WAFA.