Israeli airstrikes on dense Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza kill dozens
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Gaza: Multiple deaths and injuries have been reported at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, media reported.
Dozens of people have been killed in an Israeli air attack on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday, said the Palestinian authorities in the enclave, media reported.
The health ministry in Gaza said more than 50 people were killed in the attack and 150 others were wounded. The director of the nearby Indonesian Hospital confirmed that more than 50 people were killed.
Images and visuals of the scene of the strike emerging online show buildings heavily damaged as rescuers and volunteers use their bare hands to search for survivors in huge amounts of concrete debris reports Al Jazeera.
People were seen frantically trying to pull people from the rubble, many of the victims women and children. Others are seen standing and crying, fearing family members and friends may be among the dead, reports Al Jazeera.
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Located north of Gaza City, the Jabalia camp is the largest of Gaza's eight refugee camps. Just over 116,000 Palestinian refugees were registered there by the UN as of July 2023.
Refugees began settling in the camp after the 1948 war. It's a small but densely populated area, only covering 1.4 sq km, and is largely made up of residential buildings, BBC reported.
Jabalia has 26 schools in 16 school buildings, a food distribution centre, two health centres, a library and seven water wells. Along with the Al-Shati camp, Jabalia lies in an area that Israel has declared an evacuation zone.
The deadly attack on the refugee camp has invited strong criticisms from the Arab League (AL), Egypt and Jordan.
In a statement on Tuesday strongly condemning the deadly Israeli airstrike, the AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said that it was "a new crime" in Gaza and that the international community should no longer remain silent, Xinhua news agency reported.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement the attack was a "flagrant violation of international laws". Jordan's Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack and said Jordan held Israel responsible for the dangerous development.
It also denounced Israel's ongoing escalation of tension in the West Bank and Israeli settlers' increasing attacks on Palestinian civilians. Jordan further called on the international community to assume its responsibility, stop the ongoing conflict, and provide international protection for Palestinians.
With inputs from agencies
