“We have a funeral every 15 minutes”: Consequences of the Israeli “massacre” in Gaza | News on the Israel-Palestine conflict

At least 90 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in the al-Mawasi camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, the enclave’s health ministry said. The attack was condemned worldwide.

Displaced people who had sought shelter in the area designated by Israel as a “security zone” described the attack as a “brutal massacre”, adding that their tents were torn down by the force of the attack and bodies and body parts were scattered on the ground.

The aid organization “Medical Aid for Palestinians” has published a video in which Palestinians dig by hand to rescue those buried in the sand after the Israeli attack.

“I don’t know what to say, the situation is a tragedy. I am not exaggerating, every 15 minutes there is a funeral leaving the hospital. This has been going on since the incident. One after another they are being killed,” said Mohammed Aghaalkurdi, a member of the Nasser Hospital Charity Association.

The attack on al-Mawasi came days after Israel killed dozens of people in Gaza City and the surrounding area after urging the entire population of the northern city to leave. Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the Shujayea neighborhood in Gaza City had been “wiped out” by the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli army has repeatedly attacked so-called safe zones such as al-Mawasi, where Palestinians from other areas of the enclave have been forced to retreat. Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip of 2.3 million people has been forcibly displaced since Israel launched its devastating offensive in October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was still unclear whether Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, and another commander were killed. Israel justified the massacre by saying it was directed against Hamas commanders.

Hamas denied that Deif was killed and said Israeli claims that they were targeting the group’s leaders were false and served only to justify the attack, which was the deadliest Israeli assault in Gaza in weeks.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked and saddened” by the civilian deaths. They made it clear that “there is no security anywhere in Gaza.” He demanded that international humanitarian law be upheld.

Activists say it is a violation of the laws of war because civilian areas must be protected from attack. The International Court of Justice said in January that Israel’s attack on Gaza “plausibly” amounted to genocide.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 91 Palestinians were killed and 300 injured in the attack, the highest death toll in weeks in the conflict-torn enclave.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign and security policy chief, called for an independent investigation and condemned any possible violation of international law. On the social media portal X, he wrote that “the end does not justify the means.”

Also on Saturday, at least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on a prayer hall in a camp for displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health and disaster officials said.