ISRAEL struck what they said was a Hamas terror command centre in the Gaza Strip overnight reportedly killing at least 40 people.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it took out significant Hamas targets in the airstrike on a refugee camp near Khan Younis, in a designated safe zone.
ReutersThe destroyed camp in Khan Younis following the strike on Tuesday[/caption]
A Palestinian boy looks on at the site following Israeli strikes
GettyEmergency workers carry out a search and rescue operation[/caption]
ReutersPeople inspect the site following strikes on the camp this morning[/caption]
The IDF said on Tuesday morning it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control centre embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis”.
Local officials in the Strip said at least four missiles hit the camp in the early morning blitz, leaving craters as deep as 30 feet.
Some 20 tents also reportedly caught fire after the rocket strike.
A Gaza civil emergency official said their teams “are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area”.
Some told AFP that 40 people were killed in the Al-Mawasi camp and 60 more injured and taken to hospitals nearby.
The emergency service said both women and children were included in those killed and injured but did not specify the figures.
An estimated death toll of 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip so far has come under international scrutiny over Hamas’ influence in the Strip.
They also do not identify how many of the total figure are militants and how many are civilians.
The IDF added on Tuesday: “The terrorists advanced and carried out terror attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means.”
Hamas said the strike and Israel’s other efforts in the Strip “are being deliberately carried out without regard for international law, humanitarian law, or resolutions calling for an end to the aggression”.
The camp was housing Palestinians who have been displaced in almost a year of war in the Strip.
There have been a number of deadly attacks there before.
Almost the entire 2.3 million population have had to leave their homes at least once.
ReutersThe site of a crater in the Al-Mawasi refugee camp[/caption]
GettySmokes billows out near a tent in the camp[/caption]