• An Israeli airstrike on the al-Mawasi “safe zone” in Khan Younis killed at least 19 Palestinians and injured 60, with conflicting reports suggesting the death toll could be as high as 40
• Israel claims it targeted Hamas fighters, but Hamas denies the allegations, accusing Israel of fabricating excuses to target civilians in crowded shelters
Al-Mawasi Evacuation Zone is a 10-mile strip of sandy farmland along the Mediterranean coast, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. It was designated as a “humanitarian zone” by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in December 2023, intended to provide Palestinians with safety and access to international aid during Israeli military operations. However, the area lacks substantial infrastructure, leading to criticism from organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), which called it a “recipe for disaster.”
Despite being labeled a safe zone, al-Mawasi has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes, with the deadliest attack in July 2024 killing 90 people. Israeli forces claimed the zone was used by Hamas fighters, leading to shifting boundaries and multiple evacuations. In the latest incident, between 19 and 40 people were killed, and Palestinians reported they were not warned before the airstrike.
In another brutal attack, Israeli airstrikes on a tent encampment housing displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, Gaza, have left at least 19 people dead and at least 60 injured in the early hours of Tuesday, according to Gaza’s civil emergency service.
Reports from the ground remain fluid, with conflicting numbers of casualties emerging in the chaotic aftermath. The Government Media Office in Gaza, along with civil defence authorities, initially reported that at least 40 people had been killed and more than 60 injured in the attack, with many still unaccounted for. “Several victims remain trapped under the rubble, buried in the sand and scattered on the roads. Ambulance and civil defence crews are struggling to reach them, and many have yet to be transported to hospitals”, the health ministry said in a statement, while reporting the lower death toll (19). The exact toll may rise as rescue teams continue to search through the debris, which has left cratersup to 9-metres deep and remains of over 20 tents.
Eyewitnesses reported large explosions lighting up the night sky, with flames engulfing the tents. Images circulating on social media and news outlets showed shredded tents, craters, and the remains of everyday belongings scattered across the sand. Rescue workers, lacking heavy machinery, dug through the rubble with their hands and shovels, desperate to find survivors buried in the sand.
The al-Mawasi area, a coastal region overcrowded with displaced families, had been designated by the Israeli military as a “safe zone” for civilians. However, this did not shield the area from violence. The Israeli military defended the strikes, claiming they had targeted significant Hamas operatives using the encampment as a command and control centre. “The terrorists advanced and carried out attacks against IDF troops,” read a statement from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
Hamas denied these claims. In a statement, the group accused Israel of fabricating the presence of resistance fighters to justify ugly crimes against civilians. “This is a clear lie,” Hamas said, asserting that their fighters do not hide among civilian populations.
Israel’s recurring defence that Hamas uses civilians as “human shields” has often been cited to justify strikes in civilian areas. Yet, claim is increasingly seen as a blanket excuse for operations that disproportionately target non-combatants. However, it seems more probable that Israel is using this narrative as an excuse or even a “shield” to carry out bombings in crowded refugee camps, schools, and hospitals—spaces that had previously been marked as safe for civilians.
The death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on October 7 has soared past 40,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with nearly 90% of the population displaced at least once during the war. The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that Gaza’s infrastructure is collapsing under the pressure of relentless bombings, leaving civilians in increasingly desperate conditions.
International organizations and advocacy groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have condemned what they describe as a “genocidal” campaign against the Palestinian people. In a statement, CAIR’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, accused the Israeligovernment of massacring “Palestinians as if they were sheep for the slaughter, not human beings deserving life and freedom”.
The Israeli government, however, maintains that its military operations are crucial to dismantling Hamas’s network of fighters and infrastructure, even as civilian casualties rise. Their recent statement highlighted that the airstrikes were carried out with “numerous steps” taken to “minimise” harm to civilians, including precision targeting and aerial surveillance. But the vast destruction in al-Mawasi suggests that these measures failed to protect the very people who had sought refuge in the so-called “safe zone.”
The strikes serve as a grim reminder of the human toll in conflicts where the line between military targets and civilian casualties becomes blurred. Families who sought refuge in the “safe zones” are now mourning their dead, while rescue workers continue to dig through the rubble with inadequate equipment, searching for those still missing.
