On 9 October 2023, during the

Israel–Hamas war An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. On that day, Palestinian militant groups launched 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, a surp ...

, 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.

Airstrikes

Following the

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 ...

attack on southern Israel on 7 October, 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 ...

, between two residents of the Al-Shati, Hamas prevented civilians from leaving the area in order to use them as human shields.

References

{{2023 Israel–Hamas war Airstrikes during the Israel–Hamas war Airstrikes conducted by Israel October 2023 crimes in Asia Gaza City in the Israel–Hamas war 2023 airstrikes 2023 building bombings Mosque bombings in the State of Palestine 2023 in Islam 2023 in the Gaza Strip Building bombings in the Gaza Strip

Background

Airstrikes

See also

References