Gaza: At least 25 killed as Israel bombs tents in 'humanitarian safe zone' of al-Mawasi

At least 42 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks on al-Shati refugee camp and al-Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza, the head of Gaza’s Government Media Office has told Al Jazeera.

A video online purports to show the sheer destruction of an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the al-Shati refugee camp. 

Breaking: Horrific footage shows an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential block in Al-Shati refugee camp, with expectations of dozens of civilian casualties. #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/ThFBaZFd0b

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) June 22, 2024

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have resulted in the deaths of 101 Palestinians and injuries to 169 others in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them," the Health Ministry reported.

This marks the highest daily death toll recorded in the enclave by the ministry since June 8, when Israeli forces killed at least 274 Palestinians during an operation to release four Israeli captives in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Local media reports casualties in the bombing of houses in al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.

BREAKING: Israeli warplanes bomb a location in the Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/mP3VazrF7y

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 22, 2024

The health ministry in Gaza reported Saturday that at least 37,551 people have been killed during more than eight months of Israel's war on the enclave.

The toll includes at least 120 deaths over the past 48 hours, a ministry statement said, adding 85,911 had been wounded.

Former Mossad chief Tamir Bardo, speaking on Israel’s Channel 12, criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu, stating that he "has no strategy and no vision for the future."

"All he cares about is staying in power, and he is leading us to disaster," Bardo remarked. "The absolute victory he is talking about will result in more soldiers losing their lives."

Bardo further commented, "Netanyahu doesn’t hear, doesn’t see, doesn’t think, and he only cares about himself and doesn’t think about the state. He leads us to disaster. All that matters to him is that he remains at the head of the government."

At least 552 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,200 wounded in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers across the occupied West Bank since 7 October.

Israeli forces have also made at least 9,300 arrests in the time period.

According to a CNN report citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official, Washington has assured Tel Aviv of its full support should a full-scale war erupt with Hezbollah.

The commitment was reportedly conveyed during a meeting in Washington, DC, this week involving US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

The source indicated that the US would provide Israel with military assistance, though it would not involve deploying ground troops.

An Israeli civilian was shot dead in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Israel's military said.

Israeli troops arrived in the area shortly after and were investigating what happened, the military said. It gave no further details.

There was no immediate Palestinian comment.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported the man was shot and killed after driving into Qalqilya. His car was later set on fire, it reported.

Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before Israel's war on Gaza, has further escalated, with stepped-up Israeli military raids and  settler violence against Palestinians.

On Friday, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian gunmen in an exchange of fire during an arrest raid in Qalqilya, Israel police said.

Armed confrontations have broken out in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces sent military reinforcements to the Jabriyat neighbourhood.

Israeli forces shelled tent camps for displaced Palestinians outside Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Friday, killing at least 25 people and wounding another 50, according to the territory's health officials and emergency workers.

This was the latest deadly attack in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands have fled Israel's devastating war on Gaza . It comes less than a month after an Israeli bombing triggered a deadly fire that tore through a camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, drawing widespread international outrage — including from some of Israel’s closest allies — over the military’s expanding offensive into Rafah.

Witnesses whose relatives died in one of the bombardments near a Red Cross field hospital north of Rafah told The Associated Press that Israeli forces fired a second volley that killed people who came out of their tents.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the hospital was flooded with casualties, including 22 dead and 45 wounded, and condemned the firing of “high-caliber projectiles” a few meters (yards) from the facility. Hundreds of people live in tents nearby, including many of the hospital staff, the ICRC said.