By Ahmed Aziz in al-Mawasi – Middle East Eye
Israeli strikes targeting displaced Palestinians in the so-called “humanitarian zone” of al-Mawasi in south Gaza‘s Khan Younis overnight on Wednesday killed more than 15 people, mostly women and children.
In harrowing scenes, family members gathered around the charred remains of their relatives, including children as young as one year old, who were burnt beyond recognition.
Yusuf Abu Roos is a resident of the displacement camp. He told Middle East Eye that the sound of the strike rang out and, soon after, large fires spread throughout the displacement tents in al-Mawasi. It took time for emergency services to reach the area and put out the blaze.
“The corpses were charred… to the point that nothing was left, even the metal in the tents were burnt,” he said.
Yusuf described the corpses “as if they were skeletons, melted skeletons”.
“This is the first time we have seen such weapons, lethal weapons… as much as we have seen, this has been difficult to bear witness to… it was a night filled with hardship,” he added.
Majedeh Abu Roos, who lost a 26-year-old daughter, Tahrir, and three grandchildren in the attack, told MEE the family were all asleep when the strike hit.
“The [strike] burnt the tent, they were all burnt, they were all charred,” she said in terror.
“Look at all those who died, they were all just children and women… Have mercy on us, we are exhausted.”
She angrily questioned why Israel is targeting tents sheltering Palestinians that the Israelis forced to move there, and condemned inaction from the Arab world.
She noted that one of the slain children, 16-year-old Ahmed, was disabled. Other victims were between one and 16 years old.
So-called ‘safe zone’
Like many others, Majedeh’s daughter and her in-laws fled from Rafah to find shelter in al-Mawasi, which Israel has told Palestinians to settle in as an area that is considered “safe”.
“Every day we await our deaths, every minute and every moment, we are awaiting our end,” she sobbed.
The area has been anything but safe. Despite designating it as a refuge, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted al-Mawasi throughout the war.
Israeli ground and aerial forces have been relentlessly attacking the Gaza Strip since they broke a ceasefire on 18 March. The death toll in Khan Younis alone has reached more than 415 since then.
Nearly one-third of deaths across Gaza since last month are children (595), statistics published by the local health ministry show.
Yusuf told MEE that he calls on all the Arab countries to stand in solidarity with those in Gaza because “we are a heartbroken people, we can’t do anything”.
“Everyone should stand with us and have compassion, this is a genocidal war… we are all under the threat of death,” he added.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire last month, it has killed more than 1,691 Palestinians, and over 51,065 since October 2023. At least 116,505 have been wounded since the start of the war 18 months ago.