An Israeli strike killed at least 90 Palestinians in the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said, an attack that drew worldwide condemnation.
Displaced people who had taken refuge in the area, designated a “safe zone” by Israel, described the attack as a “horrific massacre”, adding that their tents had been torn away by the force of the strike and that bodies and body parts were strewn on the ground.
The charity Medical Aid for Palestinians has released a video of Palestinians digging by hand to recover bodies buried in the sand after the Israeli attack.
“I don’t know what to say, the situation is tragic. I’m not exaggerating, we have a funeral every 15 minutes at the hospital exit. This has been going on since the incident. One after the other, people are being killed,” said Mohammed Aghaalkurdi, a member of the Nasser Hospital Charity Association.
The al-Mawasi attack comes days after Israel killed dozens of people in and around Gaza after ordering the entire population of the northern city to leave. Witnesses told Tel Aviv Tribune that the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City was “wiped out” by the Israeli strikes.
The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked so-called safe areas, such as al-Mawasi, where Palestinians have been ordered to move from elsewhere in the enclave. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forcibly displaced since Israel launched its devastating offensive in October.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not certain whether Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, and another commander were killed. Israel justified the massacre by saying it targeted Hamas commanders.
Hamas denied that Deif was killed and said Israeli allegations that the group’s leaders had been targeted were false and aimed at justifying the attack, which was the deadliest Israeli strike in Gaza in weeks.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the civilian deaths, which show that “nowhere is safe in Gaza”, and said international humanitarian law must be respected.
Activists say it is a violation of the laws of war, as civilian areas must be protected from attack. The International Court of Justice said in January that Israel’s attack on Gaza “likely” amounted to genocide.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 91 Palestinians were killed and 300 wounded in the strike, the deadliest toll in weeks in the conflict-ravaged enclave.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s representative for foreign affairs and security policy, called for an independent investigation and condemned any potential violation of international law, posting on the social media site X that “the end cannot justify all means.”
Also on Saturday, at least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a prayer hall in a displaced people’s camp west of Gaza City, Palestinian health and civil emergencies officials said.