At least 40 people were killed and 60 others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported the casualties early Tuesday, stating that the strike targeted an area housing displaced civilians.
Civil defence official Mohammed Al-Mughair confirmed that “40 martyrs and 60 injured were recovered and transferred to nearby hospitals.” Rescue operations are ongoing, with efforts to locate 15 more people believed to be trapped under the debris.
The strike left behind significant damage, with large craters reported in the area. Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal described the scene as devastating, saying, “Entire families disappeared in the Mawasi Khan Yunis massacre, under the sand, in deep holes.”
In response, the Israeli military released a statement saying the strike targeted a Hamas command centre operating within the humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) accused Hamas of “systematically abusing civilian and humanitarian infrastructure” to carry out attacks against Israel.
Hamas denied the claims, calling the accusation that its fighters were present at the location “a blatant lie.”
Rescue operations continue as civil defence crews work to recover the missing.