At least 40 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in southern Gaza in Israeli strikes on a designated humanitarian zone, according to the Hamas-led Civil Protection Authority.
The Israeli military reports that its aircraft have attacked a Hamas militants’ operations center in Khan Younis with precision weapons.
According to local residents, three attacks targeted tents housing displaced people in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of the town of Khan Younis, creating huge craters.
“Forty people have been killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble,” the operations director of Hamas’s civil defense authority told the BBC.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that large explosions occurred in the al-Mawasi area shortly after midnight and flames could be seen shooting into the sky.
Khaled Mahmoud, a charity volunteer who lives near the site of the attacks, said he and other volunteers rushed to help but were stunned by the scale of the disaster.
“The impacts created three craters seven meters deep and buried more than 20 tents,” Mahmoud said.
Unverified videos showed civilians digging through the sand with their hands in an attempt to rescue Palestinians from a deep hole created by the airstrikes.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson reported on Telegram that “key terrorists from the Hamas terrorist organization operating from a command and control center located in the humanitarian area in Khan Younis” were attacked.
“Prior to the attack, many measures were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision weapons, airstrikes and additional intelligence,” the spokesman said.
“This is another example of the systematic use by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip of the population and civilian infrastructure, including the humanitarian space, to carry out terrorist actions against the State of Israel and IDF forces.”
Hamas rejected the Israeli military’s claims that Hamas fighters were present in the area, calling it a “blatant” lie.
“The resistance has repeatedly denied that its members are present at civilian gatherings or are using these places for military purposes.”
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled to Khan Younis since Israel began its military campaign in the area last October.
The ground operation was launched in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, which left some 1,200 people dead and 251 hostage.
More than 40,900 people have been killed since then, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
