At least 40 Palestinians were killed and several injured early Tuesday morning in Israeli airstrikes on a tent camp in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses said Israel hit the Al Mawazi area, designated as a humanitarian zone, with at least three missiles.
At least 20 tents where displaced Palestinians live were set on fire. The rockets also caused deep craters.
An emergency official in Gaza said teams were still removing the dead and wounded from the area. He added that they are looking for victims who may have been buried.
The Israeli army claims that it “hit Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center embedded in the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis.” Hamas denied the allegations, saying this was “a clear lie intended to justify these ugly crimes”.
In violation of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation for its continued brutal offensive against Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. Since then, more than 41,100 Palestinians, most of them children and women, have been killed in the Israeli attack.
Large parts of Gaza are in ruins, and the delivery of food, clean water and medicine is also blocked.
Israel has been accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, AA writes.