Israeli strike on humanitarian zone leaves at least 40 dead

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip announced on Tuesday, September 10, a death toll of 40 in a strike on a humanitarian zone in the south of the Palestinian territory. The Israeli army claimed to have targeted a “command center” of Hamas.

A Gazan Civil Defense official, Mohammed Al-Mughair, reported 15 people missing. “Entire families have disappeared (…) under the sand, in deep holes”said a spokesman for the Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, in a statement.

Around vast craters, dozens of displaced people were searching the sand for their belongings buried by the explosion, according to an AFP correspondent. The Israeli army reported a “precision strike” and questioned the Palestinian death toll.

She added that she had targeted “Hamas terrorists operating in a command and control center located in the humanitarian zone”Hamas denied in a statement that it had fighters in the area. “The occupation’s claims about the presence of resistance fighters are a blatant lie”explains the organization.