In a tragic event, Israeli forces shelled tent camps for displaced Palestinians north of Rafah on Friday, killing at least 25 people and wounding another 50 as reported by Gaza’s Heath Ministry and emergency workers, in the latest deadly attack in the tiny Palestinian territory where hundreds of thousands have fled fighting between Israel and Hamas.
According to Ahmed Radwan of Civil Defense, the shelling occurred just outside an Israeli-designated safe zone, where hundreds of thousands have fled fighting between Israel and Hamas. It comes less than a month after an Israeli bombing triggered a brutal fire that tore through a camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, drawing widespread international outrage — including from some of Israel’s closest allies — over the military’s expanding offensive into Rafah.
Witnesses whose relatives died in one of the bombardments near a Red Cross field hospital north of Rafah told The Associated Press that Israeli forces fired a second volley that killed people who came out of their tents.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the hospital was flooded with casualties, including 22 dead and 45 wounded, and condemned the firing of “high-caliber projectiles” a few meters (yards) from the facility. Hundreds of people live in tents nearby, including many of the hospital staff, the ICRC said.
Claims of Israeli Military
The Israeli military said the episode was under review but that “there is no indication that a strike was carried out by the IDF” in the area. It also did not offer details on any other strikes or what their intended targets might have been.
Witnesses whose relatives were killed in one of the bombardments near a Red Cross field hospital told The Associated Press that Israeli forces fired a second volley that killed people who had come out of their tents.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that it tries to minimize civilian deaths. It blames the large number of civilian casualties on militants and says it’s because they operate among the population.
Israel has previously bombed locations in the vicinity of the “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi, a rural area on the Mediterranean coast that has filled with sprawling tent camps in recent months.
The war started following the October 7 attack by Hamas, leading to widespread destruction and loss of lives. Israel maintains that its campaign targets Hamas militants while trying to limit civilian casualties.
