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Jabalia: Israel air strike reportedly kills dozens at Gaza refugee camp | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Explosion at Gaza refugee camp leaves massive crater | Explosion at Gaza refugee camp leaves massive crater |
Explosion at Gaza refugee camp leaves massive crater | Explosion at Gaza refugee camp leaves massive crater |
An Israeli air strike is reported to have killed dozens of people at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. | |
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said at least 50 people were killed, while the Palestinian Red Crescent said its staff had recovered 25 dead civilians. | |
Pictures showed several large craters, surrounded by shattered buildings. | |
The Israeli military said the strike killed a senior Hamas commander and "underground terror infrastructure" beneath buildings collapsed afterwards. | |
It added that a "large number of terrorists" from Hamas's Central Jabalia Battalion who had been with the commander at the time were also killed, without addressing the reports of civilian casualties. | |
Israeli ground forces, meanwhile, continued to advance from a number of directions towards some of northern Gaza's most populated areas, including Jabalia. | |
Israel has said it is the "second phase" of its war to eliminate Hamas, which began after an unprecedented cross-border attack by gunmen from Gaza on 7 October in which 1,400 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage. | Israel has said it is the "second phase" of its war to eliminate Hamas, which began after an unprecedented cross-border attack by gunmen from Gaza on 7 October in which 1,400 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage. |
Gaza's health ministry says more than 8,500 people have been killed in the territory since then, while supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine for its 2.2 million residents are dangerously low because of a siege imposed by Israel. | Gaza's health ministry says more than 8,500 people have been killed in the territory since then, while supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine for its 2.2 million residents are dangerously low because of a siege imposed by Israel. |
Hundreds of people were seen searching the wreckage for the dead and injured | Hundreds of people were seen searching the wreckage for the dead and injured |
Tuesday afternoon's air strike in Jabalia destroyed several residential buildings in the centre of the densely populated camp. | |
Video footage and photos showed hundreds of people searching the wreckage. | |
"We're filling bags with children," cried one man, holding up a small white cloth bag covered in blood. | |
AFP news agency reported that its video footage from the scene showed at least 47 bodies being pulled from the rubble. | AFP news agency reported that its video footage from the scene showed at least 47 bodies being pulled from the rubble. |
The director general of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Marwan Jilani, told the BBC: "[Our staff] uncovered 25 killed civilians... It is horrifying." | |
The strike caused a huge explosion and a vast column of black smoke that was clearly visible from inside Israel at about the time the first reports came in. | |
Jabalia resident Ragheb Aqal said it had felt like there was "an earthquake". | Jabalia resident Ragheb Aqal said it had felt like there was "an earthquake". |
"I went and saw the destruction... homes buried under the rubble and body parts and martyrs and wounded in huge numbers," he told AFP. | "I went and saw the destruction... homes buried under the rubble and body parts and martyrs and wounded in huge numbers," he told AFP. |
More on Israel-Gaza war | More on Israel-Gaza war |
Follow live: Latest updates | Follow live: Latest updates |
Watch: Israel's UN envoy pins yellow star to chest | Watch: Israel's UN envoy pins yellow star to chest |
Reporting on Gaza: 'Sometimes from behind the camera I just stand and cry' | Reporting on Gaza: 'Sometimes from behind the camera I just stand and cry' |
Explained: What is happening in Israel and Gaza, and why now? | Explained: What is happening in Israel and Gaza, and why now? |
One weapons expert said the largest crater was consistent with those caused by the sorts of bombs the Israeli air force was using to hit targets buried deep underground. | |
A long line of body bags were laid outside the Indonesian Hospital, in nearby Beit Lahia, whose medical director said it had received dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded people. | |
One of the doctors, Subaib Idais, told Reuters news agency: "They were just in their homes, they were targeted while they were in their homes... All martyrs, children, women, elderly." | |
"We have no idea what to do. There are injured everywhere." | |
Later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had a carried out a "wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabaliya Battalion" and killed its commander, Ibrahim Biari. | |
"The strike damaged Hamas' command and control in the area, as well as its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip," it added. | |
"As a result of the strike, a large number of terrorists who were with Biari were killed. Underground terror infrastructure embedded beneath the buildings, used by the terrorists, also collapsed after the strike." | |
The IDF also said on Tuesday that ground forces had killed about 50 Hamas fighters during an operation to secure a military stronghold in western Jabalia that contained weapons, firing positions and tunnels used as a passageway to the Mediterranean coast. | |
Earlier, the IDF said two of its soldiers had been killed in fierce battles with Hamas. | |
Hamas and other Palestinian groups are also still firing rockets into Israel. Four people in the coastal city of Ashdod were wounded in two separate attacks on Tuesday. | |
Jabalia is the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps. It is located in the north of Gaza City, and before the war its 116,000 registered residents lived in an area of just 1.4 sq km (0.5 sq miles). | Jabalia is the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps. It is located in the north of Gaza City, and before the war its 116,000 registered residents lived in an area of just 1.4 sq km (0.5 sq miles). |
It has been hit repeatedly since Israel's bombing campaign began in response to Hamas's attack. | It has been hit repeatedly since Israel's bombing campaign began in response to Hamas's attack. |
It is not clear how many people have fled the camp since then, but the pictures of hundreds searching in the rubble suggest that many remain. | |
On 13 October, the Israeli military ordered the 1.1 million people living in Jabalia and all other parts of northern Gaza to move to areas south of the Wadi Gaza river for their own safety, as it stepped up air and artillery strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in preparation for the ground offensive. | On 13 October, the Israeli military ordered the 1.1 million people living in Jabalia and all other parts of northern Gaza to move to areas south of the Wadi Gaza river for their own safety, as it stepped up air and artillery strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in preparation for the ground offensive. |
The UN says about 117,000 displaced civilians are staying in 13 hospitals across the north, along with thousands of patients. Many others are sheltering in UN facilities, schools, churches and other public buildings. | The UN says about 117,000 displaced civilians are staying in 13 hospitals across the north, along with thousands of patients. Many others are sheltering in UN facilities, schools, churches and other public buildings. |
Related Topics | Related Topics |
Israel & the Palestinians | Israel & the Palestinians |
Israel-Gaza war | Israel-Gaza war |
Israel | Israel |
Palestinian territories | Palestinian territories |
Gaza | Gaza |