According to the Red Cross, 22 people were killed in an attack by unknown forces on Gaza

June 22 (UPI) – In a military strike of unknown origin, at least 22 civilians were killed and a building belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross was damaged in the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday, the aid organization said.

ICRC officials said the attack hit several tents housing displaced people near Al Mawasi. The ICRC also said 45 people were injured.

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The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip blamed Israel for the deadly attack.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesman told the BBC there was “no indication” that Israeli forces had carried out a military strike near Al Mawasi and that the Israeli Defense Forces were investigating the strike.

“Heavy-caliber projectiles landed just a few meters from the organization’s offices and residential areas on Friday afternoon,” the ICRC said in a statement.

The ICRC said the attack damaged the Red Cross building, which was “surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents.”

A nearby Red Cross field hospital housed 22 corpses and 45 injured civilians.

The ICRC spoke of further victims.

“Firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures, whose locations are known to the parties to the conflict and which are clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem, endangers the lives of civilians and Red Cross workers,” the ICRC said.

Al Mawasi is located west of Khan Yunis and northwest of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials had previously declared parts of Al Mawasi a humanitarian zone.

The attack came amid growing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, north of Israel.