In a declaration from Hamas' Health Department, it's stated that 19 individuals perished in an Israeli assault on a designated humanitarian area.
Nineteen individuals were transported to hospitals, as per a health ministry announcement, following a nighttime assault. Over sixty individuals sustained injuries, some critically severe. The health ministry believed that additional individuals could be trapped beneath the ruins. Initially, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported a death toll of forty.
According to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmud Basal, entire families disappeared into the ground, buried in deep holes. Refugee tents, in his account, were targeted. The residents were not given a prior warning before the attack, which resulted in the creation of three significant craters in the earth.
The Israeli military claimed the attack was directed at a Hamas command center. They accused terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip of utilizing civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, such as designated humanitarian zones, for carrying out attacks against Israel and its army. As a result, Hamas allegedly operated from a command and control center within the humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis.
Hamas asserted that no fighters were present in the targeted area. They labeled the Israeli army's portrayal as a "blatant lie," shared via the Telegram messaging service.
The UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, condemned the attack, emphasizing the necessity of respecting the civilian population's humanitarian law. Simultaneously, he emphasized that civilians must never be used as shields. Turkey denounced "Israel's massacre of dozens of Palestinians," branding it as a war crime.
The Israeli army had previously designated Al-Mawasi as a safe zone for civilians in the early stages of the Gaza war. Over forty thousand Palestinians displaced by the conflict sought refuge there. However, the Israeli army occasionally conducts attacks in the area and its vicinity.
Al-Shair, one of the displaced individuals who sought refuge in the coastal region, described how the attack occurred during their sleep and ignited a fire. Despite the Israeli army advising Palestinians to seek refuge in Al-Mawasi, a safe zone, al-Shair questioned the safety of the location.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in conflict for eleven months. The conflict began following the massive Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, last year. Hamas fighters, along with other militant Palestinian groups, reportedly killed 1205 individuals and took 251 hostages in several locations in southern Israel, as per Israeli reports.
In retaliation to the Hamas attack, Israel has since been carrying out extensive military operations in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, which cannot be independently confirmed, over 41,000 individuals have been killed to date.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Gallant declared that Hamas no longer exists as a "military formation" within the Gaza Strip. "Hamas is leading an insurgency, and we are still fighting Hamas terrorists and pursuing the Hamas leadership," he added.
The area where the refugee tents were located was targeted during the attack. Due to the attack, many displaced individuals were left questioning the safety of designated safe zones.
