19 killed as Israel strikes Gaza humanitarian zone tent camp

An Israeli strike on a crowded tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza killed at least 19 people and wounded 60 early on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Israel said it targeted senior Hamas militants with precise munitions. The overnight strike hit Muwasi, a sprawl of crowded tent camps along the Gaza coast that Israel designated as a humanitarian zone for hundreds of thousands of civilians to seek shelter from the Israel-Hamas war.

Gaza's Health Ministry said it confirmed that at least 19 people were killed in the strike, and that the toll may rise as more bodies are recovered. The Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, had earlier said 40 people were killed. The Israeli military disputed that toll. The ministry is also part of the Hamas-run government but its figures are widely seen as generally reliable.

It maintains detailed records and its tallies from previous wars have largely coincided with figures from independent researchers, the United Nations and even the Israeli military. Both the Health Ministry and the Civil Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the discrepancy of their tolls. Associated Press footage shows three large craters at the scene.

First responders dug through the sand and rubble with garden tools and their bare hands, using mobile phone flashlights until the sun came up. They pulled body parts from the sand, including what appeared to be a human leg. We were told to go to Muwasi, to the safe area... Look around you and see this safe place," said Iyad Hamed Madi, who had been sheltering there. This is for my son, he said, holding up a bag of diapers. He's 4 months old. Is he a fighter? There's no humanity.