The latest deadly attack in the small Palestinian territory where hundreds of thousands have fled fighting between Israel and Hamas occurred on Friday when Israeli forces bombed tent camps for displaced Palestinians north of Rafah. According to Gaza's Health Ministry and emergency workers, at least 25 people were killed and 50 injured.
A spokesman for the Civil Defense first responders in Rafah, Ahmed Radwan, claims that witnesses informed rescue personnel about the shelling at two spots in a coastal area that has grown densely populated with tents.
The Health Ministry released a list of those who were killed and injured in the attacks.
The attacks, as reported by Civil Defense, took place just beyond an area that Israel had designated as safe.
According to reports, the Israeli military investigated the strikes in the coordinates. In the past, Israel has bombarded areas close to Muwasi's "humanitarian zone," a rural Mediterranean town that has recently been home to a large number of tent camps.
The attacks occurred as Israel continued its military campaign in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had fled because of fighting in other parts of Gaza. The majority has now left Rafah, but according to the UN, there is no secure place in Gaza and there are terrible humanitarian conditions as people seek refuge in small flats and tents without enough food, water, or medical supplies.
Israel claims to be concentrating on Hamas fighters and infrastructure while attempting to reduce the number of civilian casualties. It holds militants accountable for the high number of civilian deaths, claiming this is the result of their operations within the general population.
Now in the 9th month of war against Hamas, Israel has come under increasing international condemnation for its campaign of deliberate damage in Gaza at a high human cost. Israel vigorously denies the top UN court's conclusion that there is a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza.
According to the Health Ministry of Gaza, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its tally, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have claimed the lives of almost 37,100 individuals in the enclave.
After Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 people, largely civilians, and kidnapping about 250 more, Israel declared war on Gaza.
