Gaza Strip authorities said large explosions rocked a designated humanitarian zone overnight, destroying tents, leaving three large craters and killing an undetermined number of Palestinians.
The enclave’s civil-defense authorities said casualties were high and that it was struggling to reach people who had been buried by the blasts.
Palestinian women sit at the site following Israeli strikes on a tent camp sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command-and-control center in the humanitarian zone. It said it used precise weapons and aerial surveillance to limit civilian casualties.
The humanitarian zone—where Israel’s military has pushed civilians to go to avoid heavy fighting in other areas—has been the scene of other deadly attacks in recent months, including one in July in which Israel dropped eight 2,000-pound bombs to kill Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif.
Israel, which has faced severe international criticism for the high civilian death toll in the war, blames militants for hiding among civilians. Palestinians say the strikes make clear nowhere in the Gaza Strip is safe.
People inspect the site following Israeli strikes on a tent camp sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian health authorities say more than 40,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. Israel invaded the enclave after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that day left 1,200 dead and around 250 taken hostage.
Israel’s military has gradually whittled away at the area of the safe zones with evacuation orders as it chases militants who escaped the onslaught elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
