By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Clauda Tanios
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli airstrikes on Thursday resulted in the deaths of at least 54 Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip, including 11 individuals in a tent camp housing displaced families, according to medical sources.
The sources reported that the 11 fatalities included women and children in the Al-Mawasi district, which had been designated as a humanitarian zone for civilians during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, the governing militant group in Gaza, now entering its 15th month.
Mahmoud Salah, the director general of Gaza’s police, along with his aide Hussam Shahwan, were killed in the strikes, as stated by the Hamas-run interior ministry of Gaza.
“By committing the crime of assassinating the director general of police in the Gaza Strip, the occupation is determined to spread chaos in the enclave and escalate the human suffering of its citizens,” the statement read.
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out an intelligence-driven strike in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, targeting Shahwan, whom they identified as the head of Hamas’ security in southern Gaza, without mentioning Salah’s death.
Additional Israeli airstrikes led to the deaths of at least 43 Palestinians, including six at the interior ministry’s headquarters in Khan Younis, as well as others in Jabalia refugee camp, Shati (Beach) camp, and Maghazi camp in central Gaza.
According to the Israeli military, the strikes aimed at Hamas militants who were reportedly operating from a command and control center “embedded inside the Khan Younis municipality building in the Humanitarian Area.”
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), noted in a post on social media, “At the start of the year, we have reports of yet another attack on Al-Mawasi with dozens dead, highlighting the absence of any real humanitarian zone or safe haven in Gaza. Every day without a ceasefire propels further tragedy.”
When approached for comments regarding the death toll from Thursday’s events, a spokesperson for the Israeli military stated that their operations in Gaza adhere to international law and emphasized efforts to minimize civilian casualties.
Later on Thursday, separate Israeli airstrikes claimed the lives of at least four individuals on Jala Street in downtown Gaza City and two more in the Zeitoun district, according to medical personnel.
The Israeli military has accused militants in Gaza of using densely populated residential areas for cover, a claim Hamas denies.
The smaller group allied with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, reported launching rockets into Holit, a southern Israeli kibbutz near Gaza on Thursday, with the Israeli military intercepting one projectile that had crossed from southern Gaza.
Since the conflict began, Israel has reportedly killed over 45,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, leaving much of the densely populated coastal territory in ruins.
This ongoing war was ignited by Hamas’s cross-border assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals and the abduction of 251 others taken to Gaza, according to Israeli sources.
