Israeli strikes hit the al-Mawasi tent camp near Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Wednesday, as Israel continues its attacks on Palestinians in the strip despite the US-backed ceasefire deal.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli warplanes launched a series of strikes on tents used by displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, killing at least five people, including two children, and wounding dozens of others. Medical sources said the bodies that were recovered at the site had severe burns.
Aftermath of an Israeli strike that hit tents near Khan Younis, southern Gaza, today and killed at least five people, including two children (footage via the Anadolu Agency) pic.twitter.com/95aatgSrhr
— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) December 3, 2025
The Israeli airstrikes on al-Mawasi came after the IDF claimed four of its soldiers were wounded during its operations in the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza in the southern city of Rafah, where Israel has been conducting military operations against Palestinian militants who are trapped in the area, reportedly against the wishes of the US.
The IDF said “several terrorists who emerged from an underground terrorist infrastructure” attacked its troops. It called the alleged attack a “ceasefire violation,” but Israeli forces have been openly conducting military operations against the trapped fighters, saying on November 30 that they had killed 40 in the area.
The US had been pushing for Israel to grant the trapped militants safe passage to the Hamas-controlled side of Gaza, but Israel opposed the idea. According to a report from Axios, President Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Monday why he was killing the Hamas fighters trapped in Rafah rather than letting them surrender. Netanyahu reportedly told him that it’s because they are “armed and dangerous.”
While Trump hasn’t publicly criticized Israel for its repeated violations of the ceasefire deal, according to the Axios report, he told Netanyahu that he wanted him to be a “better partner” in implementing the agreement.
After the alleged attack on Israeli troops on Wednesday, Netanyahu signaled that heavy Israeli attacks were coming. “Our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate harm to IDF soldiers and will respond accordingly,” he wrote on X.
The IDF later claimed that it struck “Hamas terrorists” in southern Gaza. Footage of the aftermath shows Palestinians attempting to put out fires on the tents that were struck and children among the casualties.
Earlier in the day, the IDF killed two Palestinians in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that since the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect, Israeli forces have killed 360 Palestinians and wounded 922.
