At least 21 killed in Israeli attacks on tent camp near Gaza’s Rafah

Days after an Israeli strike on another camp drew international condemnation, Palestinian medical officials and the official Palestinian news agency reported that at least 21 people had died in Israeli attacks on a tent camp housing displaced families in al-Mawasi, close to Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.

Medical officials in the Palestinian enclave reported that women made up at least 12 of the victims slain in Tuesday’s strikes in Rafah governorate.

In a telegraph post, the Gaza health ministry said that 64 persons were injured in the attack, with 10 of them in critical condition.

Israeli airstrikes were claimed to have affected the area by the news agency WAFA.

The Israeli military disavowed having carried out an operation in al-Mawasi.

In a statement, the military said, “The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi, contrary to the reports from the last few hours.”

In the past, Israel declared Al-Mawasi, located in western Rafah, to be a humanitarian zone where Palestinians should flee for their protection.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from Deir el-Balah that “Israeli forces targeted another makeshift tent [area] where the majority of the people were women and children.”

“Palestinians do not trust Israeli forces because every time they reallocate, they get targeted,” Khoudary remarked, making reference to the families who had fled from other parts of the territory to the south of Gaza in order to escape shelling.

She declared, “There is just no place in the Gaza Strip that is safe.”

Rafah does not have any hospitals. The International Medical Corps field hospital has received all of the injured and deceased patients. Ambulances are not present.

Videos that were circulated on social media and confirmed by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking team purported to depict multiple victims of an attack, including casualties.

Individuals may be seen desperately ministering to the injured and covering the dead with blankets.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian president, called for the application of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling for Israel to cease its offensive on Rafah and referred to the most recent Israeli attack on the city as a “massacre.”

Israel has persisted with its offensive despite a top UN court’s Friday ruling ordering it to cease, claiming the verdict gives it some leeway to use force in Rafah.

Kuwait Specialty Hospital forced to shut down

Two days prior to the attack on the displaced camp, 45 Palestinians were killed in an attack on a camp in the Tal as-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. Following the assault, a fire quickly spread and destroyed the camp.

Many of the dead were allegedly “burned alive” inside their tents, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which was cited by the Wafa news agency.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari stated on Tuesday that the devastating fire “could not” have been started by Israel’s weapons alone.

Hagari stated, “Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size,” during a news briefing regarding the initial conclusions of the army’s inquiry into the assault.

The UN has been urged to take action to halt Israeli attacks on tents used as refuge by displaced families in Rafah by Hamas, the Palestinian organization in charge of Gaza.

“To stop these grave violations and protect civilians, including women and children, the international community, the UN Security Council, and the ICJ, need to move urgently and take immediate action,” a statement from Hamas stated.

About 1.5 million people lived in Rafah during its busiest, and the majority of them are currently escaping Israel’s tanks and airstrikes by moving.

The UN and humanitarian organizations have issued a warning, stating that the heavily criticized Rafah offensive is making the already grave humanitarian situation in the encircled and bombed enclave worse.

relief workers are finding it more and more difficult to provide the diminishing supply of relief to families facing extreme levels of hunger as a result of the forcible displacement of Palestinians.

Shortly after commencing its long-awaited military assault in the densely populated region, Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7.

It is still preventing humanitarian supplies—including desperately needed fuel—from entering the country. Since Israel began its most recent attack on Gaza on October 7, hardly much help has been able to penetrate the Strip.

A number of Gaza’s hospitals have closed due to a shortage of fuel and medical supplies. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli attacks forced the Kuwait Specialty Hospital to close, leaving just one hospital open in the city.

Israeli