13 killed, several injured after strike at Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza

Palestinians pray over the covered bodies of relatives, killed in overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah. Pic/AP

At least 13 people, including seven children, were killed and over 25 others were injured after a strike targeted an Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, CNN reported, citing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital officials. A graphic video obtained from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah, showed several casualties lying on the floor, CNN reported. Several people seem to be running around in panic, shouting and trying to count and carry the dead bodies.

Speaking to CNN, Owdetallah, who resides in the camp, said that he heard an explosion at around 3:40 pm (local time) on Tuesday, around 30 to 40 metres away from him. He said, "I immediately walked to see what happened and found dead bodies thrown on the ground." He said that people were screaming and kids were dead on the ground.

Footage captured for CNN from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shows casualties and injured people being taken in as the emergency room was crowded with patients. Family members were crowding near their loved one's dead bodies, holding onto them and crying, according to a CNN report.

A video from a mortuary at the hospital shows families trying to identify their loved ones. Pointing to a white body bag with a young boy's bloodied face exposed, Fatmeh Issa said, "This is my son," CNN reported. Another man said, "They have nothing to do with anyone! They are civilians. Have mercy on us. You are killing children. You are not killing an army or fighters; you are killing children who were peacefully playing in the street."

A video shows him handing a young girl's dead body to another man. The man who received her body said she was his daughter. He said, "This is my oldest daughter... her name is Lujain, and she is nine years old. A strike hit them while they were playing out in the street. They are all just children." Outside the hospital, people were looking distressed as they were crying out for their loved ones. Dozens of people offered prayers at the yard for the deceased before they were taken for burial, according to CNN report.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas started in October, more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza, according to estimates by UN Women in a report published on Tuesday, CNN reported. The report said, "Six months into the war, 10,000 Palestinian women in Gaza have been killed, among them an estimated 6,000 mothers, leaving 19,000 children orphaned," according to CNN report.

According to report, more than 1 million Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip are facing "catastrophic hunger," with almost no access to food, safe drinking water, functioning toilets or running water, creating life-threatening risks. It further said, "One child is injured or dies every 10 minutes. The Israel Defence Forces stated that they have been trying to to reduce harm to civilians in Gaza.

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