At least 21 killed in Israeli attacks on tent camp near Gaza’s Rafah

The official Palestinian news agency and Palestinian medical officials reported that Israeli attacks on a tent camp in al-Mawasi, near Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, have resulted in the deaths of at least 21 people, drawing global condemnation following a similar strike on another camp.

Medical officials in the Palestinian enclave stated that at least 12 of those killed in the attacks in Rafah governorate on Tuesday were women.

According to the health ministry in Gaza, 64 people were wounded in the attack, with 10 in critical condition.

WAFA news agency stated that Israeli air strikes hit the area. The Israeli military denied conducting a strike in al-Mawasi.

“Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” the military said in a statement.

According to Aljazeera, Israel previously designated Al-Mawasi, in western Rafah, as a humanitarian area to which Palestinians should evacuate for their safety.

“Israeli forces targeted another makeshift tent [area] where most of the people were women and children,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said, reporting from Deir el-Balah.

“Palestinians do not trust Israeli forces because every time they reallocate, they get targeted,” Khoudary said, referring to displaced families who had sought refuge in Gaza’s south after fleeing bombardment elsewhere in the territory.

“There’s simply no area that is safe across the Gaza Strip,” she said.

“There are no hospitals in Rafah. All the injured and the dead bodies have been transferred to the International Medical Corps field hospital. There are no ambulances.”

Footage shared on social media and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency showed what appeared to be several people killed and wounded after an attack.

People are seen frantically attending to the bloodied victims and covering the bodies of those killed with blankets.

The Palestinian president’s spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, described the latest Israeli attack on Rafah as a “massacre”, and called for the implementation of a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah.

Israel has continued to press its offensive despite a ruling by the top UN court on Friday ordering it to stop, saying the court’s ruling grants it some scope for military action in Rafah.