At least 40 people were killed, and 60 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a designated "safe zone" in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza, Palestinian officials reported. In the early morning attack, a tent encampment in Khan Younis was targeted where Palestinian civilians, following Israeli military directions, sought refuge from the ongoing conflict.
This has destroyed more than 20 tents serving as temporary shelters, leaving the local population in shock, while rescue teams work day and night to recover bodies buried under debris. The strike comes amid continued military operations by Israel in Gaza. According to eyewitnesses, the scene of the attack looked chaotic, with fires all over and craters 9 meters deep in what was earlier a very crowded tent camp.
Israeli Military Response and Hamas Denial
Israeli military officials say the attack targeted a Hamas command center that was tucked away inside the safe zone. "The area was being used by significant Hamas terrorists as operation grounds," the military said, but that assertion has been vigorously denied by the Palestinian group Hamas. Hamas termed the justification a "blatant lie" and said Israel was trying to rationalize what they termed "an ugly crime against civilians."The strike had also been defended by the Israeli foreign ministry, which said it had taken measures to avoid civilian casualties, using precision munitions and aerial surveillance.
International Reactions and Condemnation
The attack has galvanized a wave of international condemnations-the Council on American-Islamic Relations called the strike a massacre. Its executive director, Nihad Awad, lashed out at the government of Israel, saying it was treating Palestinians as "sheep for slaughter." As the deaths are mounting in Gaza, demands have begun to mount for accountability and investigations for possible war crimes. This incident, within what is being dubbed a "safe zone" in Gaza, heightens concern over civilian safety within the war zone and, on a broader scale, about the ever-escalating humanitarian crisis in the region.
Inputs by Agencies
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