At Least 40 People Killed by Israeli Attack on Shelter Tents in Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

SEAToday.com, Gaza - On Saturday morning (10/9), an Israeli attack on a refugee camp in Gaza's humanitarian zone, Mawasi, killed at least 40 people, while 60 others were injured. The Israeli government argued that the attack targeted Hamas.

Civil defense officials said they found 40 bodies after the attack. An entire family was killed, as they gathered in the same tent.

An Associated Press cameraman saw three large holes at the scene. Officials and refugees scavenged the debris with gardening tools and bare hands.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the three hospitals that received casualties, said that about two dozen bodies had been brought in from the attack.

The Israeli military insisted that the attack was aimed at crippling the Hamas militant group operating at the point of the attack.

However, Hamas released a statement denying the presence of militants in the area. Neither Israel nor Hamas provided evidence to support their claims.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has caused widespread destruction and evacuated around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, several times. Israeli evacuation orders, which now cover about 90% of the territory, have pushed hundreds of thousands of people into Mawasi, a line of squalid tents along the coast.

Aid agencies struggle to provide basic services in Mawasi, and Israel often strikes targets there despite designating it a humanitarian zone.

The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. The number is calculated as a whole without separating between soldiers and civilians.