Medics report that at least four Palestinians were burned alive, and 40 others suffered severe burn injuries following an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp for displaced persons in the Gaza Strip.
There is no safe place for children in Gaza.
This shameful violence against children must end now. pic.twitter.com/uz79ZFdE4T
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 14, 2024
The death toll is expected to rise, with journalists on the scene describing many tents overcrowded with displaced people being engulfed in flames.
His name was Sha'ban Al-Dalou.
He was a 19-year-old software engineering student at Al-Azhar University of Gaza and memorized the Quran.
Israel burned him alive, along side his mother. pic.twitter.com/cBTZIbLLpq
— Muslim (@Muslim) October 14, 2024
The airstrike hit the courtyard of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Gaza’s Civil Defense stated that this attack highlights the absence of safe spaces in Gaza, as the bombing caused fires that spread to tents of displaced people and the hospital itself in the early hours of Monday.
Graphic footage from the aftermath of the strike reveals the scale of the destruction, as flames ravaged dozens of tents and spread to the hospital, where people fought desperately to contain the fire. Civil Defense reported that more than 30 tents were set ablaze.
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Al-Aqsa Hospital, already overwhelmed with casualties from an Israeli attack in nearby Nuseirat, faced further devastation. At least 28 people, including 15 children and several women, were killed, and around 80 others injured in an Israeli attack on a shelter at the al-Mufti school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Entire families were reportedly wiped out in the attack.
Dr. Mohammed Tahir, a volunteer surgeon working at al-Aqsa Hospital, described the chaotic and tragic scenes: “We were inundated. Women, men, and children as young as one year old were dying in front of us.” He added that severely burned patients stood little chance of survival: “Patients with significant burns won’t even make it to the ICU. They will die.”
Tahir went on to describe the situation as a “horror show,” expressing disbelief that such suffering could be allowed to happen.
Targeting hospitals and designated safe zones for displaced civilians is considered a war crime. The number of displacement centers bombed by Israeli forces since October last year has risen to 191.
A statement from Gaza’s media office condemned the bombing of the al-Mufti School, which housed thousands of displaced women and children, holding the Israeli regime and the U.S. administration “fully responsible” for the ongoing acts of violence, which it referred to as genocide.
Israel has been conducting military operations in Gaza for over a year, aiming to defeat Hamas and secure the release of captives. However, the Israeli army has not succeeded in either objective, and the growing number of alleged war crimes in Gaza has raised alarm within the international community.