Israeli Strikes on Al-Mawasi ‘Safe Zone’ in South Gaza Kill 20 Palestinians

Israeli attacks also hit a tent camp in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and killed five children in Nuseirat

On Wednesday, Israeli strikes again targeted tents in the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, which has been declared a so-called “safe zone” by the Israeli military but has come under repeated attacks.

The attack killed at least 20 Palestinians, with children among the dead, and the death toll is expected to rise. A spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense told Al Jazeera that the Israeli military is aware that only civilians are in the camp.

Israeli strikes also pounded central Gaza on Wednesday, with one attack targeting a UN school in the Bureij refugee camp. The strike burned down 15 nearby tents and killed at least one Palestinian.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike on a shelter tent at Abu Humeisa School, which houses displaced people in Al-Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip (Majdi Fathi via Reuters Connect)

In Nuseirat, central Gaza, an Israeli strike hit a street near a community kitchen as many were waiting for food, and at least five children were killed in the attack.

Israeli strikes also continued to pound northern Gaza, where Israeli forces are conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign focused on the cities of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahia. In Gaza City, at least 10 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike on a house.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli strikes killed at least 50 people across Gaza on Wednesday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily update, which it releases about mid-day Gaza time, that Israeli attacks killed at least 30 Palestinians and injured 84 in the previous 24-hour period, bringing its death toll to 44,532 and the number of wounded to 105,538.

A group of American healthcare workers who volunteered in Gaza estimated in an open letter to President Biden in October that the US-backed Israeli onslaught has killed at least 118,908 Palestinians, a total that includes indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, who led the letter, told Antiwar.com in a recent interview that the estimate was the bare minimum they came up with by looking at the available data.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.