The head of civil defense operations said last night that more than 40 people had been killed and more than 60 injured.
On Monday afternoon, the nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said 13 people who died in the strike had been transferred there.
Dr Mohamed Al-Qudra, an emergency doctor at the hospital, told BBC Arabic that they were treating 60 injured people, 40 of whom were in critical condition. “Most of the casualties who arrived at the hospital had third-degree burns and amputations,” he said.
He also warned that hospitals lack medical equipment and supplies to treat patients, as well as bed sheets to put on the beds.
In the afternoon, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a statement that hospitals had received 19 bodies and more than 60 wounded, some in critical condition. It did not say how many were men, women or children.
Rescue workers were unable to reach other victims who were buried under sand and debris or on the road, the department added.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its aircraft “carried out precision strikes on several high-ranking Hamas terrorists operating from a command and control center located within the humanitarian area.”
According to the report, among them were Samer Abu Dhaka, commander of Hamas' air force, and Osama Tabeshi, commander of the observation and targeting department of Hamas' military intelligence headquarters.
“Extensive intelligence gathering was carried out prior to the attack, and continuous aerial surveillance was carried out in the hours leading up to the strike, which confirmed the presence of terrorists and additional terrorist operatives in the area,” he said, adding that the casualty figures released by Hamas authorities “did not match” their own information.
The IDF has accused Hamas of hiding its personnel and military facilities in humanitarian zones and using civilians as human shields.
Hamas condemned the strike on al-Mawasi in a statement as a “vicious massacre” and rejected the IDF's claim that it has a command post there.
“This is an outright lie to justify these heinous crimes. The resistance group has repeatedly denied that any of its members are participating in civilian gatherings or using these places for military purposes,” he said.
The UN Middle East peace envoy, Thor Wenesland, condemned the airstrikes on densely populated areas where migrants are staying.
He said: “I stress that international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attacks, must always be observed.” “I also stress that civilians must never be used as human shields.”
He also urged Israel and Hamas to release the remaining hostages in Gaza and immediately agree to negotiate a ceasefire.
The Israeli military launched an operation to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
More than 40,980 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip Health Ministry.
