At least 21 dead in attack on tent camp in Al-Mawasi, Gaza officials say

Gaza authorities said at least 21 people were killed and dozens injured on Tuesday in an attack on a tent camp for displaced people in Al-Mawasi, a coastal region in the south of the Gaza Strip that Israel has declared a humanitarian safety zone.

The Israeli military immediately denied carrying out any attacks inside the zone. Videos confirmed by the Times show several dead and injured in an agricultural area of ​​Al-Mawasi, where civilians had sought shelter near the zone.

Dr. Mohammed Al Moghayer, a senior official at the Palestinian Civil Defense Organization, said most of the dead and injured were taken to nearby field hospitals, while others were taken to Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis. Dr. Moghayer and the Gaza Health Ministry said that in addition to the dead, 64 people were injured, including 10 very seriously.

It was not immediately clear what type of weapons or grenades had landed at the camp and whether they had been fired from the ground or from aircraft.

The reports come just two days after dozens of people were killed when a fire raged at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah following an Israeli airstrike, sparking international condemnation. The Israeli military said the target of Sunday’s attack in Rafah was a Hamas compound and that “precise munitions” were used to target a commander and another senior militant official there.

Israeli troops are advancing further into Rafah. The United Nations has said that one million people have fled the southern city in the past three weeks. The city was once a major gathering point for displaced people driven by fighting from other parts of the enclave.

Israel has previously designated parts of Al-Mawasi as a “humanitarian zone,” but the area’s population has swelled massively in recent weeks as hundreds of thousands of people have heeded Israeli warnings and left the town of Rafah, into which Israeli troops have advanced in recent weeks. Displaced people report a lack of food and basic supplies in Al-Mawasi, and the United Nations warns of dire conditions.

Johnatan Reiss, Arijeta Lajka And Christian Triebert contributed to the reporting.