Residents of Gaza’s Al-Maghazi refugee camp returned to their neighborhood on Monday to seek out blocks of concrete scattered the place their houses had stood a day in the past.
“These homes have been destroyed. Our home has been bombed,” camp resident Abu Rami Abu al-Ais mentioned amid the rubble.
“There is no such thing as a secure place within the Gaza Strip.”
Late on Sunday, three homes within the camp had been hit by Israeli airstrikes, killing not less than 70 individuals, the well being ministry in Hamas-run Gaza mentioned. AFP couldn’t independently confirm the knowledge.
Israel says it’s issuing evacuation orders and warnings so civilians can get to security earlier than army actions, however Zeyad Awad mentioned no recommendation had been given earlier than the assault.
“What should we do? We’re residents, reside peacefully and solely need security and safety,” he mentioned.
“But abruptly and with none warning we’re hit by Israeli warplanes.”
The Israeli army mentioned it was “assessing the incident.”
“Regardless of the challenges posed by Hamas terrorists working in civilian areas in Gaza, the IDF (military) is dedicated to worldwide legislation, together with taking possible steps to attenuate hurt to civilians,” informed AFP.
Components of the Gaza Strip have been devastated by blistering Israeli bombardments throughout greater than two months of battle.
The battle was sparked by an unprecedented assault by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on October 7. They killed indiscriminately about 1,140 individuals, principally civilians, based on an AFP depend primarily based on the most recent official Israeli figures.
The militants additionally took about 250 individuals hostage, Israel says.
In response, Israel launched a brutal retaliatory land, sea and air assault on the Gaza Strip, along with a floor invasion aimed toward destroying Hamas.
No less than 20,670 individuals, most of them ladies and kids, have been killed within the offensive, based on Gaza’s well being ministry.
– ‘They chased us’ –
On Monday, returning camp residents had been shocked to see the extent of the destruction. Some described how their kids had panicked when the explosion occurred.
“The Israeli military just isn’t sparing the civilians… They’re inflicting intensive, monumental destruction and panic within the hearts of my kids,” Awad mentioned.
“My little one mentioned to me, ‘Defend me. What’s occurring? I can not breathe.'”
AFP footage confirmed a number of residents strolling via the rubble and inspecting injury attributable to the in a single day strike. Some hugged one another and burst into tears.
A number of charred automobiles may very well be seen scattered alongside the roads as kids searched via the wreckage for his or her books.
The Al-Maghazi camp is certainly one of many in Gaza and was established in 1949, based on the UN, to deal with refugees fleeing hostilities on the time of Israel’s creation the 12 months earlier than.
Many who fled Al-Maghazi camp after Sunday’s assaults did so once more, having already escaped assaults in northern Gaza.
Considered one of them was Rawan Manasra, initially from Beit Hanun. The strike on the camp decimated her household, she mentioned.
“They (the Israeli military) killed my 5 brothers. I’ve no brothers anymore. They killed them together with their kids and girls,” Manasra informed AFP.
“There are strikes every single day… They inform us to maneuver from the north to the south, then they chase us and assault us.”
Dozens of individuals injured from Sunday’s strike had been taken to Deir al-Balah Hospital in central Gaza, one of many few hospitals nonetheless partially functioning. Some lay on stretchers, whereas volunteers carried others of their arms.
“It is a bloodbath,” Well being Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra mentioned.
“Dozens of injured individuals are changing into martyrs as a result of they can’t be handled instantly,” he added.
Israeli assaults in Gaza have repeatedly hit hospitals protected by worldwide humanitarian legislation, and despair is rising amongst medical workers over their incapability to deal with individuals.
The Israeli army accuses Hamas of working tunnels beneath hospitals and utilizing the medical services as command facilities, a cost the Islamist group denies.
