(Bloomberg) — Israel launched a deadly airstrike on what it said was a Hamas base in a Gaza camp for displaced Palestinians, an incident likely to stoke international concern about the ongoing war.
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Hamas said 40 people were killed and 60 more injured in the attack, figures Israel disputed without providing an alternative toll.
The Israel Defense Forces said the overnight barrage was aimed at senior Hamas fighters operating a command-and-control center in the humanitarian area near the city of Khan Younis, according to a statement Tuesday. The military said three people directly involved in the Oct. 7 invasion were among those targeted.
Hamas denied it had fighters in the area, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been sheltering since Israel designated it a humanitarian zone at the outset of the conflict.
The assault extends the fallout from Israel’s almost year-long offensive to topple Hamas, which is deemed a terrorist group by the US and European Union. The Israelis have faced allegations of war crimes, which they reject, during a campaign that has left much of Gaza in rubble and upended the lives of the more than 2 million people who live there.
The US, less than two months out from a presidential election in which the Gaza crisis has been a divisive topic, is overseeing efforts mediated by Qatar and Egypt to secure a cease-fire. Those talks have stagnated for several months, stuck on issues such as Israel’s military presence in the border area between Gaza and Egypt, and the make up of an exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners.
About 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war to date, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. The Iran-backed group’s fighters killed about 1,200 people and abducted 250 during the Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel that triggered the conflict.
Unverified footage on social media showed residents digging up sand and pulling out bodies in the Mawasi, a stretch of fields and dunes where the encampment was situated. A witness said the strikes left three craters and destroyed more than 20 tents.
The IDF said numerous steps were taken to mitigate risks to civilians prior to the attacks, including use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance. Israel has previously said it would refrain from attacking the Mawasi unless Palestinian fighters operated there.
“Despite the extensive measures taken by the IDF to enable the Gazan population to move away from combat zones, including by designating a Humanitarian Area, the Hamas terrorist organization continues to embed its operatives and military infrastructure” in those places, the IDF said.
Read: US Still Pushing Gaza Cease-Fire Deal as Israel and Hamas Dig In
In July, about 90 displaced Palestinians were killed in a strike in the Mawasi. Israel said at the time that the attack targeted and killed Mohammed Deif, a top Hamas commander.
–With assistance from Fadwa Hodali.
(Updates with Israel, Hamas statements throughout.)
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