An Israeli strike targeting a Hamas commander in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza has caused catastrophic damage and killed a large number of people, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.
“I was waiting in line to buy bread when suddenly and without any prior warning seven to eight missiles fell,” Mohammad Ibrahim told CNN.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Israel responsible for Gaza refugee camp attack.
Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
“There were seven to eight huge holes in the ground, full of killed people, body parts all over the place,” he said.
“It felt like the end of the world.”
Israel Defence Forces said the airstrike targeted and killed Ibrahim Biari, who it described as one of the Hamas commanders responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel in which more than 1,400 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage.
IDF also said “numerous other Hamas terrorists” were hit in the strike, and claimed the Central Jabalya Battalion had taken control of civilian buildings.
Hamas, however, has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in the refugee camp.
The militant group’s spokesperson Hazem Qassem accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a “heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp”.
Witness Mohammad Al Aswad described a “horrific scene” in the aftermath of the strike, telling CNN he ran to the refugee camp to check on family after hearing the missiles land.
“Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognisable. Some were bleeding and others were burnt,” Al Aswad told CNN.
People in the area were hysterical, he added. “I saw women screaming and confused. They didn’t know whether to cry about losing their children or run and look for them, especially since many children were playing in the neighbourhood.”
Images from the scene showed a huge crater among rubble and damaged buildings. Palestinians and rescue workers are seen attempting to find victims, some using their hands to scoop the detritus away.
The deadly airstrikes come as Israel expands its four-day-old ground offensive — after three weeks of aerial bombardment — into Gaza from the north to hit Hamas in retaliation for the Islamist group’s deadly surprise attack into southern Israel on October 7.
Some of the 240 hostages who, Israel says, were seized by Hamas that day are believed to be held in a tunnel complex used by Hamas, adding a further complication for the Israeli forces as well as the difficulties of fighting in an urban setting.
“Over the last day, combined IDF (Israel Defence Forces) struck approximately 300 targets, including anti-tank missile and rocket launch posts below shafts, as well as military compounds inside underground tunnels belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation,” an Israeli military statement said.
Militants responded with anti-tank missiles and machinegun fire, it said.
A number of militants were killed, it said, without specifying a number.
Hamas said in a statement its fighters were engaging in fierce battles with Israeli ground forces, who were taking losses.
“The occupation is pushing its soldiers into proud Gaza, which will always be the cemetery of invaders,” Hamas said.
Israeli forces also bombed the narrow coastal enclave overnight in air, sea and ground attacks, hitting northwestern areas, witnesses said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Israeli forces targeted Gaza’s main north-south road and attacked Gaza City, its northern hub, from two directions.
Gaza health authorities say that 8525 people, including 3542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.
UN officials say more than 1.4 million of Gaza’s civilian population of about 2.3 million have been made homeless.
About 1400 people, mainly civilians, were killed in the cross-border Hamas assault on October 7, Israel says.
Reuters has been unable to independently verify casualty counts.
The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said militants also clashed early on Tuesday with Israeli forces invading Gaza’s south, hitting four Israeli vehicles with missiles.
Militants also fired at two Israeli tanks as well as bulldozers in northwest Gaza, al-Qassam said.
In Beit Hanoun, in the northeast, they “liquidated” an Israeli unit which was ambushed as it entered a building.
Reuters was unable to confirm the details of battle reports.
Air raid sirens sounded in the area of Israel’s far southern resort city of Eilat on the Red Sea on Tuesday and the Israeli military said it downed an approaching “aerial target”.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had launched a “large number” of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel, their third operation targeting Israel, with more to come.
The mounting death toll in Gaza has drawn calls from the United States, Israel’s main ally, other countries and the UN for a pause in fighting to allow in more humanitarian aid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of both security assistance for Israel and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
“Without swift and sustained humanitarian relief, the conflict is much more likely to spread, suffering will grow, and Hamas and its sponsors will benefit by fashioning themselves as the saviours of the very desperation they created,” he said.
Israel has sealed off Gaza and refuses to allow in fuel supplies lest, it says, they be used by Hamas to wage war.
– with CNN