In yet another deadly attack on the war-torn Gaza Strip, Israeli forces launched an attack on the al-Mawasi camp, a designated humanitarian ‘safe zone’ for displaced Palestinian civilians, killing at least 90 and wounding 300 others.
According to an Al Jazeera report, Israeli forces launched airstrikes and shelling on the densely populated area on July 13, followed by a ground invasion by Israeli troops. Eyewitnesses described the scenes of chaos and terror, with civilians, including women and children, caught in the crossfire.
The attack involved fighter jets and drones.
Photos and videos verified by the Sanad agency showed Palestinians sifting through debris and what appeared to be remnants of tents at the location of the attacks.
Amid the attack, Israeli officials claimed the attack targeted two senior members of Hamas’s military wing, including its chief, Mohammed Deif, claiming they were hiding among civilians.
However, Hamas according to the reports dismissed this claim as “false”, saying it was a way of covering up the “horrific massacre” at a location where displaced Palestinians were urged to seek shelter after receiving orders to evacuate their homes elsewhere in the Strip.
Pertinently, the attack on al-Mawasi in Gaza came in the aftermath of a deadly incident in Rafah, where Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes and ground invasions, killing at least 45 people, including women and children.
The fresh attack has been widely condemned as a “shocking and brutal massacre” and has sparked outrage, with international leaders calling for an immediate ceasefire, independent investigation, and accountability.
International reaction
Jordan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on “displaced persons’ tents in an area that Israel had previously classified as “safe”.
The official spokesman and director of operations Sufyan al-Qudah, said Jordan called for the international community to act to bring an end to Palestinian suffering amid Israel’s repeated violations of international law.
Turkey
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the attack “a phase of the Netanyahu government’s effort to annihilate the Palestinians”.
“The fact that Israel once again opted for bloodshed when it was expected to respond to Hamas’s positive response to the ceasefire [proposal] is evidence that the Netanyahu government is trying to prevent negotiations for a permanent ceasefire,” the ministry said.
The minister also called on countries supporting Israel to put an end to “barbarism”.
Egypt
Egypt condemned Israel’s bombing of the Al-Mawasi stating, it adds “serious complications” to the ongoing Gaza cease-fire negotiations.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on Israel to “stop disregarding the lives of innocent civilian citizens and to adhere to the required humanitarian standards in compliance with international law and humanitarian law” following the Israeli army attack, Shafaq News reported.
In a statement, Egypt said the attack on the Palestinians’ tents in Al-Mawasi “cannot be accepted under any pretext.”
Egypt has been among the countries working to mediate such an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar
Qatar has described the attack as a “shocking and brutal massacre.” ‘Al-Mawasi “is a new chapter in the ongoing series of crimes” committed by Israel against Palestinians. Thereby expanding the cycle of violence in the region and threatening international peace and security”.’ it said.
Iran
Iran, which has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, also condemned the Israeli attack, stating that the attack is the latest crime in the series of crimes committed by the child-killing “Zionist regime.”
“The Zionists have once again brutally shown that to compensate for the defeats suffered on the battlefield with the resistance, they do not recognize any humane and moral red line towards the defenseless residents of the Gaza Strip, but they must know that insisting on this path is nothing but a wider global hatred,” Kanaani said in a post on X.
The former first minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, shared a tweet highlighting the attacks of Israeli forces in Gaza, stating that the area was designated as a “safe zone.”.
Tagging a newly-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, he wrote, “Israel not only drops bombs on refugee camps, they also follow up with an attack on rescue services who go to help the injured. Innocent children, women, and men are killed daily, and yet the UK won’t end arms sales to Israel. Why is the UK choosing to be complicit, @Keir_Starmer?”.
OIC Condemns the attack
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also strongly condemned the attack and called it the gruesome carnage committed in the Gaza Strip.
The OIC stated that the attack is considered a continuation of the crime of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian civilians in flagrant defiance of the United Nations resolutions and the injunctions of the International Court of Justice in this regard.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the Israeli air raids which killed at least 90 Palestinians.
“The Secretary-General underlines that international humanitarian law including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack must be upheld at all times.”
The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added that there will be “a need for accountability” when the conflict in Gaza ends. “But right now, people are hungry. People need water.
People need medical help. And that’s what we’re trying to do in the middle of a combat zone,” he said.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric condemned the recovery of the bodies in Gaza City, calling it “yet another tragic example of the toll on civilians” in the ongoing conflict.
“While this conflict is going on, it is not only impossible to give people the medical support they need, the food they need, the shelter they need, but also the dignified burial they need,” Dujarric said.
Hamas
Hamas officials accused Israeli authorities of orchestrating a “planned massacre,” as reported by Al Jazeera.
“Some displaced people were pointing to the Israeli army, carrying white flags and saying, ‘We are not fighters; we are displaced.’ But the Israeli occupation army executed these displaced people with cold blood,” al-Thawabta said.
Ismail al-Thawabta, Director-General of the Hamas Government Media Office, claimed that the Israeli military directed thousands of Palestinians in eastern Gaza City to move to western and southern neighborhoods and then opened fire on them once they arrived.
The death toll in Palestine so far
According to Palestinian officials, at least 553 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, and 9,510 have been detained.
About 3 million Palestinians live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where more than 500,000 Israelis reside in over 100 settlements.
Global protests
Protests have been held worldwide in solidarity with the Palestinian people following the al-Mawasi attack. Strong condemnations of Israel’s actions have marked the demonstrations and calls for justice and accountability.
Norwegian activists protested outside the Israeli Embassy in Oslo.
Protests outside Downing Street in London.