June 2024 northern Gaza City airstrikes | |
---|---|
Part of the Bombing of the Gaza Strip and the Israel–Hamas war | |
Location | Al-Shati refugee camp and Tuffah, Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
Date | 22 June 2024 |
Attack type | Airstrikes |
Deaths | 43+ Palestinians [lower-alpha 1] |
Injured | 35+ Palestinians |
Victims | 19+ missing |
Perpetrator | ![]() |
Motive | Targeting a senior Hamas official |
The June 2024 northern Gaza City airstrikes or Al-Shati and Tuffah dual airstrikes took place on 22 June 2024, when two airstrikes conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces occurred at roughly the same time in northern districts of Gaza City, striking the al-Shati refugee camp and the Tuffah district, killing at least 43 people and wounding dozens more. [1] [2]
The al-Shati refugee camp was first targeted on 9 October 2023, within 48 hours of the start of the Israel–Hamas war, hitting and destroying four mosques while killing at least 15 Palestinians. On 10 November, Israel Defense Forces invaded the camp during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, with the IDF claiming to have killed roughly 150 Hamas operatives during battles in the region before taking control of the camp. [3] [4]
At the time of the airstrikes, displaced Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip were told to seek refuge in the al-Shati refugee camp, as a humanitarian safe zone. [5]
Two airstrikes targeted separate areas in northern districts of Gaza City, the first striking a residential block in the al-Shati refugee camp, and the second striking houses in the al-Tuffah district. Israeli media reported that the IDF was potentially targeting a senior Hamas official. A Gaza City civil defense spokesperson claimed that the attacks felt like "an earthquake" that targeted the whole area, burying several families under rubble. Many of the injured were taken to Baptist Hospital and Al-Ahli hospital, who had difficulty treating casualties due to a severe shortage of fuel and medical supplies. [1]
At least 24 Palestinians were killed in al-Shati camp, while at least 18 were killed in al-Tuffah. Following the airstrikes, the IDF released a statement claiming that it struck "two Hamas military infrastructure sites”. [6] Dozens of Palestinians [1] were injured in the airstrikes and resulting structure collapses, at least 35 of whom were in al-Tuffah, while at least 19 people working at an Al-Tuffah factory were reported missing. [7] Gaza's Civil Defence stated that the vast majority of victims were civilians, with several being children. They further stated that there were still dozens of Palestinians trapped under debris of, and that rescue operations were extremely difficult. [1]
Hamas officials claimed that the airstrikes were deliberately targeting civilians, stating that the "occupation and its Nazi leaders" would face retaliation as a result. [8]
UNRWA released a statement decrying the IDF's "blatant disregard of humanitarian law", stating how their indiscriminate attacks left no region in Gaza safe. [9]
Al-Shati, 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.
Nuseirat is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the refugee camp had a population of 31,747 and the surrounding Nuseirat municipality had a population of 54,851 in 2017. The camp was established after the 1948 Palestinian expulsion during the 1948 Palestine war.
Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp created by the United Nations following Israel's war of independence in 1948. Despite its name, it is nowadays an urban agglomeration located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. It is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Due to Israeli attacks in 2024 during the Israel–Hamas war, the refugee camp was described as "destroyed".
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
Events in 2023 in the Palestinian territories.
From 9 October 2023, as part of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted airstrikes in Jabalia refugee camp, claiming it was a stronghold for Hamas and other militant groups.
On 9 October 2023, during the Israel–Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, 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.
On October 31, 2023, Israel bombed the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip – an event that was called the Jabaliya camp massacre in the Muslim world. The airstrike, which came amidst the Israeli invasion of Gaza, killed more than 120 people, mostly women and children, and was widely condemned. It is also considered one of the war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war.
The siege of Gaza City began on 2 November 2023, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza City, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which was a counterattack to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Gaza City is the most populated city in the Gaza Strip and the battle started on 30 October 2023, when Israel and Hamas clashed in Gaza City. According to Oxfam, there are about 500,000 Palestinians, along with 200 Israelis and other captives, currently trapped in a "siege within a siege" in northern Gaza.
Israel conducted two airstrikes on the al-Fakhoora school in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which was being used as a shelter by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA). On 4 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 15 people and injured 70.
Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Al-Maghazi refugee camp was struck several times.
In the Israel–Hamas war, as part of the bombing and invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes on more than 200 educational facilities, including universities, in the Gaza Strip as part of its military operations in the Israel–Hamas war. The IDF claims such airstrikes are the result of the placement of military infrastructure and rocket launching from civilian areas, including schools. By late March 2024, the United Nations recorded more than 200 Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza, with at least 53 schools totally destroyed. In June 2024, UNOCHA stated 76 percent of Gaza's schools required "full reconstruction or major rehabilitation".
The bombing of the Gaza Strip is an ongoing aerial bombardment campaign on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Air Force during the Israel–Hamas war. During the bombing, Israeli airstrikes damaged Palestinian refugee camps, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and other civilian infrastructure. by late April 2024 it was estimated that Israel had dropped over 70,000 tons of bombs over Gaza, surpassing the bombing of Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II.
On 21 June 2024, Israeli forces attacked refugee tent camps in al-Mawasi, Gaza Strip just outside an area designated as a humanitarian safe zone. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 25 people were killed and 50 others were injured in the two rounds of bombing. The bombing was the second Israeli bombardment of the al-Mawasi refugee camp in under a month, with an attack on 28 May killing over 21 people and injuring 64 more.