In a devastating overnight attack on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike targeted a humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 40 individuals and injuring 60 others, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency. The strike hit Al-Mawasi, an area designated as a safe zone by the Israeli military earlier in the conflict, which had become a refuge for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
The Israeli army stated that the strike aimed at a Hamas command center located within the humanitarian zone. This action is part of a broader pattern of military operations in the area, including a July strike that Israel claimed killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif. Gaza health authorities reported that incident resulted in over 90 fatalities.
Mohammed Al-Mughair, a civil defense official in Gaza, confirmed the casualties and noted that efforts were ongoing to locate 15 missing individuals. “Our teams are still working to recover those unaccounted for following the destruction of tents housing displaced people in Al-Mawasi,” Al-Mughair said. The civil defense also reported that more than 20 to 40 tents were completely destroyed, leaving behind “three deep craters” and causing entire families to disappear under debris.
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The Israeli military defended the airstrike, asserting that their aircraft targeted “significant Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center” embedded inside the humanitarian area. The military accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure for military purposes, thus justifying the strike.
Hamas, however, rejected these claims, labeling them as “blatant lies.” The group has consistently denied accusations that it uses civilians as human shields, a charge frequently levied by Israel throughout the conflict.
Since the onset of the war, which began with Hamas’s attack on October 7, killing 1,205 people, Israel’s retaliatory actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 40,988 individuals, as reported by Gaza’s health ministry. The United Nations indicates that the majority of casualties are women and children.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to massive displacement, with nearly all of the 2.4 million residents having been displaced at least once. The Al-Mawasi zone, originally home to 1,200 people per square kilometer, now accommodates between 30,000 and 34,000 individuals per square kilometer, according to UN estimates.
Efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to mediate a ceasefire and negotiate a prisoner exchange remain stalled amid the ongoing violence.
