Israeli army admits targeting ‘humanitarian area’ in Gaza’s Khan Younis

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army on Thursday admitted that it struck tents housing displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area, which has been designated as a “safe zone” in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The airstrike killed 23 Palestinians and injured dozens more.

According to a statement from the army, the airstrike targeted Hamas operatives in what it claimed was a "humanitarian area" in Khan Younis. It added that the "operation," which was carried out on the direction of military intelligence and the Shin Bet, killed "Osama Ghanim, a senior operative in Hamas' Internal Security Forces."

On Wednesday, a medical source told Anadolu that 23 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed, and dozens more injured in the attack on tents housing displaced families in al-Mawasi, northwest of Khan Younis.

On Thursday, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said the Israeli military burned Palestinian civilians alive in their tents in al-Mawasi.

In a statement, the human rights group said the details of the attack suggest that “the Israeli army deliberately targeted civilians.”

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in the area. Tel Aviv has previously attacked al-Mawasi, a 12-kilometer coastal strip that connects Deir al-Balah to the north and Rafah to the south.

These attacks have resulted in mass killings, including women and children, despite Israel’s designation of the area as a “safe zone” and forcibly displacing Gaza residents to live there.

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, killing nearly 44,600 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,700.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions denouncing the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy the population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio