At least 19 people have been killed and 60 others injured in an Israeli airstrike in a humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials.
The militant Palestinian organization Hamas had initially spoken of at least 40 dead. Later, the Health Ministry reported 19 deaths, although other Hamas authorities continued to speak of 40 Palestinians killed.
The Israeli army said the attack was aimed at key Hamas terrorists in a command centre hidden in the zone. It also denied the high death toll.
Footage from the site showed a huge crater in the ground and people desperately digging in the sandy soil with their bare hands in the search for more victims.
According to the civil defence in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas, tents housing internally displaced persons were hit.
Israel had repeatedly called on Gaza Strip residents who had fled to seek safety in the Al-Muwasi humanitarian zone.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Air Force “conducted a precise strike on a number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the humanitarian area” in Khan Younis.
“Among the terrorists struck was Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, Head of Hamas’ Aerial Unit in the Gaza Strip,” Hagari said.
Osama Tabesh, the head of the Observation and Targets Department in Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters, and Ayman Mabhouh, another senior Hamas commander, were also said to have been hit during the operation.
The Israeli military reported the strike in a Telegram post early on Tuesday, saying the air force “struck significant Hamas terrorists” they claimed had been operating from within the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, but did not provide any information on casualties.
“The terrorists advanced and carried out terror attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel,” the post said, adding that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”
Hagari said the Hamas members hit in the strike had been “directly involved in the execution” of the October 7 attacks on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed.
The had recently been involved in carrying out terrorist activities against Israel, Hagari asserted.
“Prior to the strike, extensive intelligence gathering was conducted, as well as continuous aerial surveillance in the hours leading up to the strike, which confirmed the presence of the terrorists in the area alongside additional terrorist operatives,” the spokesman said.
Hamas, on the other hand, declared that Israel’s claim that its fighters had been in the humanitarian zone was “a blatant lie.”
Israel has repeatedly justified attacks on humanitarian areas citing intelligence saying that Hamas operatives are hiding there.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Hagari contradicted the death toll given by the civil defence agency, saying the figures “do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike.”
In July, Israel struck a target in the humanitarian zone between Khan Younis and al-Mawasi, which Israel claimed served as a base for Hamas militants.
Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, and the commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, Rafa Salama, were killed in the attack.
Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza said the strike hit a refugee camp, leaving at least 90 people dead and another 300 injured.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,000 people have been killed and more than 98,000 others injured in Gaza during 11 months of war. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters and cannot be independently verified at present.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, with more than 1,200 dead, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 last year.
