Dozens dead and injured in Israeli “massacre” in refugee camp in Khan Younis

According to the state media office, dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured in Israeli attacks on a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Khan Younis.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 71 Palestinians were killed and 289 others injured in the attack.

According to Hamas, the shelling hit tents housing displaced people in the Mawasi district of Khan Younis, an area that Israel reportedly declared a security zone.

“The Israeli occupation army has committed a major massacre by bombing the tent camps of the displaced people in Khan Younis,” said the statement from the Hamas-run government media office in the Gaza Strip.

“Over 100 people were killed or injured in the horrific massacre, including members of the Civil Emergency Services.”

The Israeli army radio station cited defense sources as saying the target of the attacks was Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing. The Israeli army later confirmed this.

However, a Hamas representative told Reuters that this was “nonsense.”

“All the martyrs are civilians, and what happened was a serious escalation of the genocidal war, supported by American support and the silence of the world,” Abu Zuhri said, adding that the attack proved that Israel was not interested in a ceasefire.

Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that at the beginning of the war he had given “standing orders to eliminate high-ranking Hamas officials” and added that he would hold security talks later in the day to discuss further developments.

Journalist Firas Abu Sharkh, reporting from the scene, said Israeli forces “directly targeted Civil Defense and Health Ministry teams” working in Mawasi to recover the dead and injured.

This was also reported by the military correspondent of the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, who said on X (formerly Twitter) that the army had “Attacks on the compound where Deif was located continued even after the first attack to ensure that rescue teams did not arrive to rescue the terrorists.”

Overwhelmed by corpses

Nabil Walid from Khan Younis told Middle East Eye that one missile hit the Ajrar gas complex, causing an explosion, while another a water desalination plant.

An official at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said they were overwhelmed with bodies and wounded following the attack on Mawasi, Al Jazeera reported.

He said they had so far received 20 bodies and dozens of injured, adding that medical teams did not have the capacity to treat more.

In addition, civil protection teams are working to recover bodies from the rubble.

Mohammed Al Khatib, an employee of Khan Younis-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, said his organization had been forced to temporarily evacuate one of its medical facilities designed to provide basic health care due to “insecurity.”

“Al-Mawasi is densely populated and has a large market where people roam to meet their basic needs,” he said in a statement.

According to Gaza health authorities, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

Israel’s attack on Gaza followed a Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed 1,171 people and captured hundreds. Israel has named Deif as one of the masterminds of the operation.