Israeli warplanes on Tuesday hammered the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 50 people.
The Israeli military has acknowledged it launched the airstrikes, claiming a senior Hamas commander was in the civilian populated camp. For their part, Hamas denied that one of its commanders was in the camp.
Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the strikes were launched with US-made bombs. “These buildings house hundreds of citizens. The occupation’s air force destroyed this district with six US-made bombs. It is the latest massacre caused by Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip,” said Interior Ministry spokesperson Iyad al-Bazum, according to Middle East Eye.
Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital confirmed that more than 50 people were killed in the strike. According to Middle East Eye, Gaza’s Health Ministry has said at least 100 were killed, and the Interior Ministry said the total casualties was around 400, including both dead and wounded. Photos of the aftermath show craters and rubble from destroyed and damaged buildings.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht if Israel was aware that the refugee camp was full of innocent civilians, men, women, and children. “This is the tragedy of war, Wolf. We’ve been saying for days, move south,” Hecht replied.
Many of the Palestinians who fled north Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order did not find safety as Israeli airstrikes continued to pummel the south. Some returned to the north, saying it would be better to die in their homes.
Source: AntiWar.
