On its last two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, the Jabaliya refugee camp, located in the north of the Gaza Strip, was heavily bombarded by the Israeli army, which claimed to want to target Hamas executives. 20 minutes takes stock after these new bombings.
What happened ?
Jabaliya, the largest refugee center in the Gaza Strip, where 116,000 people usually live, was targeted by Israeli fire on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday evening, the Israeli army confirmed this bombing in the camp which targeted and made it possible to “eliminate” Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander presented as one of those responsible for the October 7 attacks.
“The Palestinian people deserve peace and security. Instead, they are used as human shields, accused an Israeli army spokesperson, Richard Hecht. An assertion denied by Abdul Issa Massoud, a resident of Jabaliya, who assured AFP that there was “no resistance (from Hamas fighters, Editor’s note)” in the camp
Since the bloody attacks by Hamas, the Israeli army has led a response in Gaza and claimed to have “eliminated” Muhammad Atzar, head of the anti-tank unit, in a strike, without specifying where the latter was killed.
What results after the bombing of the camp?
The Hamas government announced on Thursday that 195 people had been killed in two Israeli bombings on the Jabaliya refugee camp on Tuesday and Wednesday. “The victims of the first and second massacres in Jabaliya exceed a thousand between martyrs and wounded. We recorded 195 martyrs, 120 missing under the rubble and 777 injured,” the Hamas government press service said in a statement. This assessment could not be immediately verified, AFP recalled.
Present on site, journalists from the agency observed massive destruction, while survivors cleared the rubble in search of survivors. Rescuers also claimed that “entire families” had been decimated. The first bombing of the camp on Tuesday killed seven hostages, “including three holders of foreign passports,” Hamas assured. According to Israeli authorities, 240 hostages are being held by the Islamist movement.
What reactions after the bombing?
On Wednesday evening, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights considered that these bombings could constitute “war crimes”, due to “the high number of civilian victims and the scale of the destruction”. The head of UN humanitarian operations Martin Griffiths denounced an “atrocity”. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said he was “appalled” by the strikes on the refugee camp.
On Wednesday evening, France showed itself to be “deeply concerned about the very heavy toll for the Palestinian civilian populations”. While reiterating his “unwavering solidarity” with Israel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed “the importance of the protection of civilians and humanitarian aid for the population of the Gaza Strip” during a telephone interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Qatar deplored a “new massacre”, while Saudi Arabia and Argentina condemned these Israeli strikes.