UPDATE 2 - Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 40 Palestinians

REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS MORE INFO

By Mustafa M. M. Haboush

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - At least 40 Palestinians were killed and several others injured early Tuesday in Israeli airstrikes on a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses said Israel struck the Al-Mawasi area, a designated humanitarian zone, with at least three missiles.

At least 20 tents where the displaced Palestinians are staying caught on fire. The missiles also caused deep craters.

A Gaza civil emergency official said teams are still removing the dead and wounded from the area.

The official said they have been struggling to search for victims who might have been buried.

While the Israeli army claimed that it "struck Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area in Khan Younis," Hamas denied the allegations, saying this is "a clear lie that aims to justify these ugly crimes."

Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip – now nearly a year old – has killed around 41,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 94,800 others, according to local health authorities.

A continuing 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 at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.