Gaza genocide: Israeli strike on shelter housing displaced persons kills 7; death toll 45,259

An Israeli airstrike on Sunday struck a tent sheltering displaced people in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing seven Palestinians, including two children, according to Palestinian sources.

Marwan Al-Hams, a representative of Gaza’s health authorities, informed Xinhua that the bodies, which included a boy and a girl, were transported to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. Additionally, nine others injured in the strike were treated at field hospitals in Mawasi.

Eyewitnesses and a security source reported to Xinhua that the airstrike caused fires to erupt among the densely populated tents.

In a statement released Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike, stating it targeted a Hamas militant operating within the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.

The Mawasi area, located along Gaza’s Mediterranean coastline from western Rafah to the outskirts of Nuseirat, has been designated by the Israeli military as a safe zone for residents of Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out an extensive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of around 250 people.

According to Gaza’s health authorities, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 45,259 as of Sunday.