Norway condemns Israeli airstrike on 'safe zone' in Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – The Norwegian foreign minister on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike on a safe zone in the southern Gaza Strip, saying the presence of armed groups "does not nullify the obligation" to comply with international laws.

"I condemn the Israeli airstrike this morning on a «safe zone» in Khan Younis. All parties have an obligation to protect civilians in warfare," Espen Barth Eide wrote on X.

At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes early Tuesday on a tent camp in Khan Younis in al-Mawasi area, which Israel has designated as a “humanitarian zone” for displaced civilians in Gaza.

"The presence of armed groups does not nullify the obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. The war must end," Eide noted.

Gaza’s civil defense service said the Israeli missiles caused craters as deep as nine meters (30 feet) in the area.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Israeli warplanes dropped three US-made 2,000-pound (900 kg) MK-84 bombs on a tent camp in al-Mawasi at midnight as civilians were sleeping.

Last month, at least 100 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on the Al-Taba’een School in Gaza City, where over 6,000 displaced people have sheltered.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Under the rules of war, "deliberately targeting" such civilian facilities can constitute a war crime.

The Israeli onslaught has killed nearly 41,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured 94,800 others, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.