Five Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on Wednesday when Israeli aircraft struck a displaced persons camp west of Khan Younis in Gaza, according to medics at the Kuwait Field Hospital.
Among the dead were two boys, aged eight and ten, a 36-year-old man, and two women aged 30 and 46. Medical teams said they treated 32 injured people following the blasts in the coastal al-Mawasi area.
Rescue workers told the BBC they recovered the bodies from al-Najaat camp, a cluster of tents that has housed hundreds of displaced people in recent months.
The Israeli military said it targeted a “Hamas terrorist” in retaliation after five of its soldiers were wounded earlier in the day. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas had carried out a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” by attacking troops in the Rafah area. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “respond accordingly.”
Witnesses described a strike on a tent inside the displacement area, followed by blasts near the Kuwait Field Hospital, which caused panic among families sheltering nearby.
Hamas condemned the strike as “barbaric, indiscriminate and a violation of the ceasefire,” which began on October 10. The group said it would hold Israel responsible for the escalation.
The Israeli military launched its offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 70,100 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent military campaign.
By James Kisoo
