Israeli warplanes struck two refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 53 people and injuring dozens, according to health officials in the besieged enclave.
Sunday’s attacks came as Israel said it would continue its offensive against Hamas, despite international calls for a ceasefire or “humanitarian pause.”
Air raids hit the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza overnight, killing at least 40 people and injuring 34 others, the health ministry said.
Arafat Abu Mashaia, who lives in the camp, said the air raids razed several multi-story residential buildings where people forced to leave other parts of Gaza were sheltering.
“It was a real massacre,” he said, standing on the rubble. “Here, everyone is a peaceful people. I challenge anyone who says there was resistance (fighters) here. »
The camp, a built-up residential area, is located in the evacuation zone where the Israeli army had urged Palestinian civilians to seek refuge as it focused its military offensive on the north.
Another airstrike hit a house near a school in the Bureji refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, and staff at al-Aqsa hospital said at least 13 people were killed. The camp is home to around 46,000 people and was also hit on Thursday.