Huge explosions swept across Gaza’s largest refugee camp on Tuesday, killing dozens in Israeli army strikes that killed a Hamas commander involved in the October 7 attacks.
Volunteers scraped through concrete blocks and twisted metal at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza in a desperate hunt for dead and survivors, with AFP film footage showing at least 47 corpses rescued.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, had no immediate response on the claim, but soon pledged to turn Gaza into a “graveyard” for Israeli troops.
Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry reported more than 50 dead and 150 injured, but said many more were likely buried beneath the wreckage, blasting “a heinous Israeli massacre” at the camp.
Egypt condemned Israel’s “inhumane targeting of a residential block” and announced it will reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow wounded Palestinians into the country for medical care. It is the first time since the war began that Cairo has agreed to open the border to people.
The strikes came after a day of heavy combat between Israeli ground troops and militants in northern Gaza as Israel intensified its goal to “crush” Hamas after its militants went on a rampage, murdering 1,400 people in the bloodiest massacre in the country’s history, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has responded with an unrelenting aerial assault, which the Hamas-controlled health ministry claims has killed over 8,500 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and children.
As the violence raged, intensive diplomatic efforts to secure the release of more than 230 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including Israelis, foreigners, and dual nationals, appeared to be making progress, with the Al-Qassam Brigades declaring that some of the foreigners would be released “in the coming days.”