In a devastating development in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli forces launched strikes on tent camps housing displaced Palestinians north of Rafah on Friday. The attack has resulted in at least 25 deaths and left 50 others wounded, according to reports from Gaza’s Health Ministry and emergency workers.
This latest assault marks another tragic chapter in the nine-month-long war that has seen Gaza’s civilian population bear the brunt of the violence. The strikes targeted makeshift shelters in a coastal area that has become a haven for hundreds of thousands fleeing the intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
Ahmed Radwan, a spokesperson for Rafah’s Civil Defense first responders, reported that eyewitnesses alerted rescue workers to shelling at two locations near the coast. These areas, now densely populated with tent camps, lie just outside the Israeli-designated “safe zone” in Muwasi, a rural coastal region.
The Israeli military has stated they are investigating the reported coordinates of the strikes. However, this is not the first time areas in proximity to the designated humanitarian zone have come under fire, raising serious concerns about the safety of civilians in the region.
The attack comes as Israel intensifies its military operations in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the fighting elsewhere in Gaza. The United Nations emphasizes that no place in Gaza can be considered safe, with humanitarian conditions reaching critical levels as families struggle to survive in overcrowded tents and apartments with limited access to food, water, and medical supplies.
This incident follows a similar tragedy less than a month ago when an Israeli bombing sparked a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza. That event drew widespread international condemnation, including from some of Israel’s closest allies, over the expanding military offensive into Rafah.
While Israel maintains that it targets Hamas fighters and infrastructure while attempting to minimize civilian casualties, the mounting death toll tells a different story. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have claimed over 37,100 lives since the conflict began, though it does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
The ongoing conflict has drawn increasing international criticism, with the United Nations’ top court concluding there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza – an allegation Israel vehemently denies.
As the war enters its ninth month, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen. The conflict, which began after Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage, shows no signs of abating.
The international community watches with growing concern as the civilian death toll rises and the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates further. Calls for a ceasefire and peaceful resolution to the conflict are intensifying, but for now, the people of Gaza continue to endure unimaginable hardship and loss.
