Dozens killed, wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza tent camp, Palestinian agency says

Israeli air strikes on a tent camp for displaced Palestinians killed and wounded 65 people in southern Gaza, the enclave’s civil emergency service said early on Tuesday, as the Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas command centre.

Residents and medics said a tent encampment near Khan Younis in the Al-Mawasi area, a designated humanitarian zone, was struck by at least four missiles. The camp is crowded with displaced Palestinians who have fled from elsewhere in the territory.

The Gaza civil emergency service said at least 20 tents caught on fire, and missiles caused craters as deep as nine metres (30 feet). It said the 65 victims included women and children but did not provide a breakdown of deaths and injuries.

There was no immediate comment from the Gaza health ministry, which compiles casualty figures. Earlier, the Hamas-aligned Shehab News Agency said 40 Palestinians were killed.

“Our teams are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area. It looks like a new Israeli massacre,” a Gaza civil emergency official said.