DaysofPal– Nearly 50 people, including women and small children, were killed in Gaza on one of the bloodiest days as Israeli airstrikes repeatedly targeted areas known as “humanitarian safe zones.” The death toll in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory now approaches a staggering 46,000.
The latest wave of violence has hit particularly hard in al-Mawasi, a coastal area in southern Gaza ironically designated as a “humanitarian safe zone” by the Israeli military. Despite this designation, the area has been repeatedly targeted, resulting in horrific casualties among displaced civilians seeking refuge in makeshift tent camps.
Witnesses from the area describe a tragic scene at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, where the bodies of the victims—eight children and five women—were carried in on carts pulled by animals. In a particularly tragic incident, five children sheltering together in a single tent in al-Mawasi lost their lives to an Israeli strike, along with others so disfigured by explosions they were unrecognizable.
Al-Mawasi has been bombarded repeatedly even though it has been designated as a “safe zone.” The attacks were characterized by locals as “horrific massacres,” with displaced civilians suffering the most. The hospital’s morgue paints a grim picture, with lifeless bodies, some of them children, lying on stretchers or stacked on metal shelves.
In the last 24 hours alone, three families were wiped out in separate strikes, according to local health officials, with over 30 people killed and dozens injured. The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of Israel’s offensive on October 7, 2023, has surged to nearly 46,000, with more than 109,000 injured.
As humanitarian aid efforts falter under dire conditions, hospitals are struggling to stay operational. Facilities such as the European Hospital in Khan Yunis and Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah are on the brink of shutdown due to fuel shortages. Continued strikes on humanitarian aid convoys, coupled with hijackings of critical supplies have left Gaza’s hospitals and civilians in desperate need.
Eyewitnesses described the escalating violence as “chaotic,” with fear and uncertainty gripping residents who anticipate further strikes. Aid workers have decried what they call a “breaking point” in their ability to save lives as attacks on aid operations, including food distribution points and UN convoys, intensify.
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