According to the Hamas-run Civil Defense Organization, 40 people died in southern Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks
Gaza : According to the Hamas-run Civil Defense organization, Israeli attacks on a designated humanitarian zone have resulted in at least 40 deaths and many injuries in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military claimed to have taken precautions to lessen the possibility of killing civilians when its aircraft bombed a Hamas militants’ operations center in Khan Younis.
According to locals, three strikes left massive craters near the tents used to house displaced persons in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of Khan Younis.
“Over sixty people were hurt and forty people died, and many more are still under the rubble,” the BBC was informed by the operations director of Hamas’s Civil Defense department.
Shortly after midnight, the BBC was informed by witnesses that there were massive explosions in the al-Mawasi region and that flames could be seen ascending into the sky.
Living close to the strike site, Khaled Mahmoud volunteers for a charity. He stated that although he and other volunteers hurried to assist, they were taken aback by the magnitude of the catastrophe.
“The strikes created three craters seven metres deep and buried more than 20 tents,” Mr Mahmoud claimed.
Unconfirmed footage shows bystanders using their hands to dig through the sand in an effort to rescue Palestinians who had been trapped in a deep hole created by the airstrikes.
A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a statement that the force had struck “significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis.”
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means,” the official stated.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, including the designated Humanitarian Area, to carry out terrorist activity against the State of Israel and IDF troops.”
The Israeli military’s assertion that Hamas militants were in the region was denied by Hamas, who referred to it as a “blatant” falsehood.
“The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or are using these places for military purposes.”
Since Israel began its military operation in the region in October of last year, thousands of Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes have migrated to Khan Younis.
In response to Hamas’s devastating onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages, the ground operation was started.
Since then, the health ministry in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has reported over 40,900 deaths in the region.
