Five killed in Israeli air strikes on tents near Khan Younis, medics say

Five Palestinians, including two children, were killed and many others were injured when Israeli planes crashed into tents for displaced people west of Khan Younis, according to medics at Kuwait Field Hospital.

The attacks hit the Al Mawāsi region on Gaza’s coastline.

Medical teams said that the deceased were two women aged 46 and 30, a 36-year-old man and two boys aged 8 and 10.

Health officials said that 32 injured people were treated in hospital.

Rescue workers told the BBC they recovered the bodies from Al Najaat camp, a cluster of tents that has housed hundreds of displaced people in recent months.

The Israeli military said it “shot a Hamas terrorist” after five of its soldiers were injured early Wednesday.

“The Hamas terrorist organization clearly violated the ceasefire agreement under which terrorists attacked the IDF.” [Israeli] In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces stated that soldiers were deployed to the Rafah region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “respond appropriately” to the attack.

Eyewitnesses said the first attack targeted a tent in the al-Mawasi displacement area, followed by explosions near the Kuwaiti hospital, causing panic among families sheltering nearby.

Hamas described Israel’s action as barbaric, indiscriminate and a violation of the ceasefire that began on October 10.

The Israeli army launched its attack in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

More than 70,100 Palestinians have since been killed as a result of Israel’s campaign, according to the region’s Hamas-run health ministry.