Israel bombarded an area in southern Gaza with large tent encampments for Palestinians displaced by the war and killed at least several people, including children, the Civil Defense emergency rescue service in the territory said on Thursday.
The strike was part of the latest round of attacks on Gaza that killed more than 20 people overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Palestinian officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in death tolls.
One of the strikes hit the coastal area of Mawasi near the city of Khan Younis, an area largely designated by the Israeli military as a “humanitarian zone” where tens of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering in tents.
In video distributed by wire agencies, the strike appeared to ignite a fire that burned some tents and rescue workers attempted to douse the flames in the wake of the strike on Mawasi before driving off with the dead and wounded.
Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel ignited the war in October 2023, Israel has repeatedly ordered Gazans to head for Mawasi, creating sprawling tent encampments. While many Gazans hoped they would be safe in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, Israel has occasionally struck there, citing activity by militants.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Mawasi attack and did not confirm the location of the strike.
Israel has vowed to ramp up its attacks in Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to lay down its weapons and to release the hostages seized by the armed group in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, saw about 250 taken hostage and touched off the war.
In January, Israel and Hamas signed a cease-fire that mediators hoped would lead to an end to the war. Thirty hostages and about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners were freed before Israel ended the truce in mid-March with a renewed military assault in Gaza, citing a deadlock in talks to secure the next steps of the deal.
The Israeli offensive came as Palestinians face what the United Nations has said could be the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began. More than 400,000 people have been displaced by the renewed fighting, many after returning to their homes for the first time in months.
Since early March, Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, barring shipments of medicine and food. Israeli officials have argued they allowed in sufficient supplies during the cease-fire but that Hamas has diverted some of the aid for its own purposes.
Many Israelis remain deeply anxious over the fate of the dozens of hostages still held by Hamas and allied groups. About 59 of the captives seized in the Oct. 7 attack are still in the enclave, more than half of them now presumed dead.
International mediators — including from the Trump administration — have sought to broker a new deal between Israel and Hamas to restore the cease-fire and free the remaining hostages. But neither side has yet to compromise on their seemingly irreconcilable demands.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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