On 9 October 2023, during
the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
conducted an airstrike on
al-Shati refugee camp
Al-Shati ( ar, مخيم الشاطئ), also known as Shati or Beach camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea coastline in the Gaza Governorate, and more specifically Gaza City.
Al-Sha ...
in the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
, destroying four mosques. According to Palestinian media, the attack killed people inside. The camp is Gaza's third-largest refugee camp, with a population of more than 90,000 refugees.
A second strike was conducted on 12 October, killing 13 people.
Background
The al-Shati camp was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who
fled or were expelled by Israeli forces during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
. It contains a sewage system, a health center and 23 schools (17 primary, 6 secondary).
With an area of 0.52 km², as of 2023 it was one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Airstrike
Following
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
's
invasion of southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, Israel launched airstrikes at different areas in the Gaza Strip. In the Shati airstrikes, four mosques were hit, the al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque. All were destroyed according to satellite footage, and local news reported an unspecified number of people were killed inside. The
Palestinian Ministry of Health
The Health Minister of the State of Palestine ( Abbreviation: MOH) is Dr. Mai al-Kaila.[IDF spokesperson
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit ( he, דובר צה"ל, ''Dover Tsahal'', abbr. Dotz) is the unit in the IDF Operations Directorate, responsible for information policy and media relations. The unit is led by the IDF Spokesperson, a brigadier general an ...](_blank)
, between two residents of the Al-Shati, Hamas prevented civilians from leaving the area in order to
use them as human shields.
See also
*
Airstrikes on Palestinian refugee camps during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
References
Airstrikes during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Airstrikes conducted by Israel
October 2023 events in Asia
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
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