At least 21 individuals were killed on Wednesday following an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Gaza, a Palestinian health official said.
The Strike
Atif Al-Hout, director of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, reported that in addition to the fatalities, the strike left at least 28 people injured.
The Israeli military stated that its aircraft targeted senior Hamas militants in the area, describing them as being "involved in terrorist activities." According to the military, the strike triggered secondary explosions, suggesting the presence of explosives at the site. Independent verification of these claims was not immediately possible, and it is also possible that the blast ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials within the camp.
Nasser Hospital received at least 15 bodies following the strike but determining an exact count was challenging due to the condition of the victims, many of whom were dismembered, severely burned or decapitated.
The strike targeted the Muwasi area, a densely populated coastal camp sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. It followed earlier Israeli airstrikes across the Palestinian enclave, including one in central Gaza that killed eight people, four of them children.
Israel War in Gaza
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, and abducting around 250 individuals. Of those taken hostage, around 100 remain in Gaza, with estimates suggesting that at least a third of them are presumed dead.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 44,500 Palestinian deaths, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry has not specified how many of the deceased were combatants. Meanwhile, the Israeli military claims it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants, though it has not provided evidence to substantiate those figures.
Israel maintains that it aims to minimize civilian casualties and places responsibility for their deaths on Hamas. According to Israeli officials, the militant group frequently operates from within residential areas, using homes, schools, mosques and other civilian structures to conceal tunnels, rocket launchers and military infrastructure.
Trump's Stance on the Gaza War
After winning the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump has spoken about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Earlier this week, Trump issued a fiery demand for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group before he came to office.
Trump warned in a post to his Truth Social platform on Monday that "there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity" if the remaining captives seized by Hamas during their attack on Israel in October of last year were not freed before his January 20 inauguration.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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