World Reacts To Israel’s Al-Mawasi Attacks That Killed 90 While Hundreds Were Wounded As ‘Shocking And A Brutal Massacre’; But Will Israel Stop?
Even as Israel continues to pound Gaza, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded in Israeli military strikes on Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that 90 people were killed and 300 others injured, with some in critical condition.
The Israeli warplanes targeted tents sheltering displaced Palestinians and a water distillation unit in an area designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military, according to a Gaza civil defence spokesperson.
Images from the scene showed Palestinians rescuing individuals from the rubble, including children and paramedics among the wounded.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, journalists described the incident as “a new massacre committed by the Israeli military,” noting that the area was hit by “five bombs and five missiles.” They described the scenes as “incredibly bloody and devastating.”
The victims were transported to Nasser and Kuwaiti hospitals, where an official at Nasser Hospital said they could no longer accommodate the influx of wounded patients. Meanwhile, civil defence teams continued their rescue efforts at the attack site.
Israel Defends Its Action
The Israeli military stated that it acted based on “precise intelligence” to target an area where “two senior Hamas terrorists” and additional fighters were hiding among civilians. The location was described as “an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings, and sheds.”
In a subsequent press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the targets included Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and senior Hamas commander Rafa Salama. However, it was not immediately confirmed if either were killed.
“Either way, we will get to the whole of the leadership of Hamas,” Netanyahu stated.
Hamas denied that Deif and Salama were killed in the attack, calling the Israeli claims “false.” They accused the Israeli military of making unsubstantiated claims to justify their actions.
Hamas described the attack on al-Mawasi as a massacre against an area densely populated with more than 80,000 displaced people, asserting that it was part of a systematic campaign against Palestinian civilians in tents, shelters, and residential neighborhoods.
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, a reporter noted that this pattern of justifying attacks on “safe zones” by alleging the presence of Hamas figures among civilians is a common tactic used by the Israeli military.
The al-Mawasi area has been frequently targeted by Israeli forces, with a strike in late May killing at least 21 people in tents housing displaced families.
Gaza civil defence reported that the deputy director of its fire and rescue department was killed in a separate Israeli strike in central Khan Younis, and eight other members were wounded after Israeli aircraft reportedly bombed the area again while civil defence teams were attempting to rescue people from a residential building.
At least 60 bodies were found after the Israeli military withdrew from some neighborhoods in Gaza City, in the devastated northern part of the besieged enclave, civil defense teams reported on Friday.
Since the start of the war, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military.
Last month, Israeli forces killed at least 274 Palestinians in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp during a daylight operation to free four Israeli captives.
Updating the casualties since October, Gaza’s health ministry stated on Saturday that at least 38,443 Palestinians have been killed and 88,481 injured in Israel’s war on the enclave.
The World Condemns The Brutal Massacre
The United Nations and countries across the Middle East have condemned Israel after its military attacked a designated humanitarian safe zone in Gaza.
Israel claimed that Saturday’s attack in al-Mawasi targeted Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted uncertainty about whether Deif had been killed.
Hamas dismissed the rationale for the assault as “false,” asserting that “defenceless civilians” were killed in the attack.
Photos and videos showed Palestinians sifting through debris and remnants of tents at the attack site.
Here’s how countries have responded:
Jordan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on “displaced persons’ tents in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, in an area that Israel had previously classified as safe, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of Palestinians.”
Spokesperson Sufyan Al-Qudah called for the international community to act to end Palestinian suffering amid Israel’s repeated violations of international law.
Egypt
In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s “ongoing violations against the rights of Palestinian citizens” add serious “complications” to achieving a ceasefire deal. Egypt has been actively working to mediate such an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli raids on the al-Mawasi area,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
Qatar
Doha, also working as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations, called the “shocking and brutal massacre” at al-Mawasi “a new chapter in the ongoing series of crimes” committed by Israel against Palestinians.
Qatar warned that the attack would further undermine efforts for a lasting peace, “expanding the cycle of violence in the region and threatening international peace and security.”
Turkey
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled the attack as “a phase of the Netanyahu government’s effort to annihilate the Palestinians entirely.”
“The fact that Israel once again opted for bloodshed when it was expected to respond to Hamas’s positive response to the ceasefire [proposal] is evidence that the Netanyahu government is trying to prevent negotiations for a permanent ceasefire,” the ministry stated.
Turkey called on countries supporting Israel to put an end to the “barbarism.”
Iran
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, described the attack on al-Mawasi as the “latest crime in the series of crimes committed by the child-killing Zionist regime.”
“The Zionists have once again brutally shown that to compensate for their defeats on the battlefield with the resistance, they do not recognize any humane and moral red line towards the defenseless residents of the Gaza Strip, but they must know that insisting on this path will only lead to wider global hatred,” Kanaani said in a post on X.
Palestinian Authority
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency, governing parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, called the attack a “continuation of the genocidal war against our people,” adding that the US administration bears responsibility for the continuation of the massacres.
In a statement carried by the Wafa news agency, Abu Rudeineh said, “Without blind and biased American support, this occupation would not have been able to continue its bloody crimes against our people and defy international laws and the decisions of international courts that have demanded an end to the onslaught and protection for our people.”
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed that he was “shocked and saddened” by the Israeli air raids that killed at least 90 Palestinians.
“The [Israeli military] stated that they were targeting two senior members of Hamas,” Guterres said in a statement. “The Secretary General underlines that international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, must be upheld at all times.”
Hezbollah
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah decried Israel’s attack and said the Lebanese group’s attacks against Israeli targets fulfil the “duty” to support Palestinians and are not a “favour”.
“Today, the occupation carried out a large massacre against displaced people in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis. Then it justified it by saying it wanted to target [Hamas] leaders,” he said. “Are there worse injustices and oppression in the world?”
Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “activating international accountability mechanisms” against Israeli abuses.
“The Foreign Ministry condemns in strongest terms the continuation of genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli war machine, the latest of which was the targeting [of] displaced people’s camps in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.
Organisation for Islamic Cooperation
The OIC said it strongly condemned Israel’s “heinous massacres” in al-Mawasi as well as in the Shati refugee camp.
The organisation said it considers the attacks an “extension of the crime of genocide that the Israeli occupation continues to commit against Palestinian civilians, in blatant defiance of” UN resolutions and the orders of the International Court of Justice.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE denounced Israeli abuses in Gaza, including “the most recent targeting of camps for displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, which led to numerous deaths and injuries to dozens of innocent civilians”.
The country’s Foreign Ministry also “reaffirmed the need for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, reiterating the importance of protecting civilians and civilian institutions, according to the international law including international treaties”.
Oman
Oman said the Israeli attack was “an explicit act of terrorism and new evidence of the policy of deliberate extermination… towards the Palestinian people”.
The country’s foreign minister said in a statement that the raids, which targeted “unarmed civilians”, were in clear breach of international law.
Colombia
President Gustavo Petro decried what he called “the greatest injustice”.
“I am even more outraged because this destruction of international human law is a prelude to the barbarism they want to unleash on all the oppressed people of the earth,” he said in a post on X.
Malaysia
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “strongly condemned” Israel’s “relentless attacks against Palestinians”, including yesterday’s attack on the al-Mawasi camp.
“This heinous and appalling attack, which took place inside an area Israel designated itself as a safe zone for Palestinians, is a flagrant disregard for all human life,” the ministry said in a statement shared on X.
UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese said that Israel likely violated international law by striking in a designated humanitarian zone.
“I’m disgusted by the tolerance of Israel’s impunity which is enabling the genocidal war,” Albanese said.
In March, Albanese issued a report listing “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
United States
While the administration of US President Joe Biden has yet to respond to Saturday’s attack, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said, “We must do more to stop this.”
Writing on X, Jayapal said, “Israel is continuing a horrific assault on Gaza, forcing the closure of medical facilities and even restricting the entry of medical equipment.”
She called for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire to release the hostages and save lives”.
