Israeli airstrikes killed at least 68 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including at a tent camp where the head of the enclave’s police force, his deputy and nine displaced people died, Gaza authorities say.
That attack occurred in the Al-Mawasi district, which was designated as a humanitarian zone for civilians earlier in the 14-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza.
The director general of Gaza’s police department, Mahmoud Salah, and his aide, Hussam Shahwan, who were checking on residents of the camp, were killed in the strike, according to Gaza’s interior ministry.
“By committing the crime of assassinating the director general of police in the Gaza Strip, the occupation is insisting on spreading chaos in the (enclave) and deepening the human suffering of citizens,” it added in a statement.
The Palestinian civil defence agency said three children had been killed in the attack on the camp, which had been housing displaced families.
The Israeli military said it had conducted an intelligence-based strike in Al-Mawasi, just west of the city of Khan Younis, and killed Shahwan, calling him the head of Hamas security forces in southern Gaza. It made no mention of Salah’s death.
Other Israeli airstrikes killed at least 57 Palestinians, including six in the interior ministry headquarters in Khan Younis and others in north Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, the Shati (Beach) camp and central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.
Israel’s military said it had targeted Hamas militants who intelligence indicated were operating in a command and control centre “embedded inside the Khan Younis municipality building in the Humanitarian Area”.
Asked about Thursday’s reported death toll, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said it followed international law in waging the war in Gaza and that it took “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.
Hamas’ smaller ally Islamic Jihad said it fired rockets into the southern Israeli kibbutz of Holit near Gaza on Thursday.
The Israeli military said it intercepted one projectile in the area that had crossed from southern Gaza.
At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia
Israel says its almost three-month-old campaign in the northern Gaza Strip is aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping.
Its instructions to civilians to leave are meant to keep them out of harm’s way, the military says.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say no place is safe in the enclave and that evacuation orders worsen the humanitarian conditions of the population.
“As the year begins, we got reports of yet another attack on Al-Mawasi with dozens of people killed, another reminder that there is no humanitarian zone let alone a safe zone (in Gaza)”, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said in a post on X.
“Everyday without a ceasefire will bring more tragedy.”
According to the Palestinian civil defence, more than 1,500 tents sheltering displaced people across the Gaza Strip were flooded by heavy rains over the past two days, leaving people exposed to the cold and their belongings damaged.
Palestinians sheltering in tents in Gaza have recently faced heavy rain and winter temperatures. Source: Anadolu, Getty / Abed Rahim Khatib
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are living in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10C at night.
At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians in the war in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, and
The significant escalation in the long-running conflict was triggered by , in which 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera broadcasts
Meanwhile, The Palestinian Authority (PA) ordered the suspension of broadcasts by Qatar-based Al Jazeera across the Palestinian territories on Wednesday, accusing the network of airing “inciting content”, official media reported.
“The specialised ministerial committee, comprising the ministries of culture, interior and communications, has decided to suspend broadcasts and freeze all activities of Al Jazeera satellite channel and its office in Palestine,” the official Wafa news agency said.
“The decision also includes temporarily freezing the work of all journalists, employees, crews and affiliated channels until their legal status is rectified due to Al Jazeera’s violations of the laws and regulations in force in Palestine,” the report said.
“This decision comes in response to Al Jazeera’s insistence on broadcasting inciting content and reports characterised by misinformation, incitement, sedition and interference in Palestinian internal affairs,” it added.
An Al Jazeera employee contacted by AFP confirmed that the network’s office in Ramallah had received a suspension order on Wednesday.
Later on Wednesday, the channel aired images of what appeared to be Palestinian security officers entering the network’s office in Ramallah and handing over the suspension orders, but there was still no reaction from the channel to the Palestinian Authority’s move.
Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad condemned the decision to ban the network.
Tensions between Al Jazeera and Fatah movement
Tensions between the Doha-based network and the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, have risen in recent weeks following the channel’s coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in Jenin.
In late December, the channel condemned what it said was an “incitement campaign” by Fatah against the network in some areas of the occupied West Bank.
“This campaign follows the network’s coverage of clashes between Palestinian security forces and resistance fighters in Jenin,” it said at the time.
“During its coverage of the tragic events in Jenin, Al Jazeera ensured the presence of all voices, including those of the resistance fighters and the spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces.”
The security forces of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over the West Bank, have been engaged in deadly clashes with gunmen since early December, triggered by the arrests of several militants.
They are fighting members of the Jenin Battalion, most of whom are affiliated with either Islamic Jihad or Hamas.
The violence in Jenin refugee camp — — has killed 11 people, including PA security personnel, militants and civilians.
The Palestinian Authority’s decision comes more than three months after
The network is already banned from broadcasting from Israel amid a long-running feud with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has only worsened during the ongoing war in Gaza.
