Middle East

More than 100 killed in Israeli air strike on refugee camp in Gaza

Residential block in Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza reportedly destroyed, with dozens of casualties rushed to nearby Al-Aqsa hospital

Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on December 25th. Photograph: Haitham Imad/EPA

Mark Weiss
Mon Dec 25 2023 - 19:18

Some 100 people were reportedly killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday night in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza in one of the deadliest incidents in the Gaza war, now in its 80th day with no end in sight, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

Sources in Gaza said a densely populated residential block was destroyed and dozens of casualties were rushed from Maghazi to the nearby Al-Aqsa hospital.

Israel said it was examining the reports. “Despite the challenges posed by Hamas terrorists operating within civilian areas in Gaza, the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] is committed to international law including taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians,” a military statement said.

The fierce fighting continued on Christmas Day, with the focus on Gaza’s second-biggest city, Khan Younis, in the south and three refugee camps in central Gaza, Nuseirat, Maghazi and al Bourej. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation said the food shortage in Gaza “is forcing people into horrible states of hunger”, adding that some, “out of desperation ... take supplies from delivery trucks.” He added that across Gaza “drastic shortages of medicines, food, power, water and – above all – safety imperil the population”.

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More than 20,000 residents have been killed in Gaza since October 7th when Israel launched its attack after 1,200 people were killed by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel and 240 kidnapped.

Relatives of the 129 hostages in Hamas captivity disrupted prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech in the Knesset parliament on Monday, chanting “Now, now, now” demanding the government agree to a deal to free all the hostages immediately.

Israel is making “every effort” to bring the hostages home, Mr Netanyahu stressed, but said this effort required “military pressure” to succeed. “We won’t stop fighting,” he insisted. “We aren’t stopping and we won’t stop until victory because we have no other land and no other path.”

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have reportedly rejected an Egyptian proposal that they relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in return for a permanent ceasefire. Israel’s war cabinet convened on Monday night to consider the Egyptian framework but Israel is unlikely to endorse any initiative that would prevent a resumption of the fighting after a hostage release.

The Egyptian initiative includes three phases. The first stage calls for a seven- to 10-day ceasefire, during which the Israeli army would move its troops away from the population centres and Hamas would release all the civilians it is holding. The second stage, lasting one week, would see the release of Israeli women soldiers in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. The third stage would involve about a month of negotiations to release the male soldier hostages, and Israel would pull its troops out of Gaza.

Reza Mousawi, a senior officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in an alleged Israeli air strike in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday. In response, Tehran vowed that Israel “will pay for the assassination”.

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Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss is a contributor to The Irish Times based in Jerusalem

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