Israel bombs al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing dozens, Gaza officials say

Bombing comes days after air raids on Jabalia and Bureij refugee camps that officials say killed more than 200 people.

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Al-Maghazi refugee camp was hit by Israeli bombardment last month [File: Hatem Moussa/AP Photo]

Israel’s military has bombed at least three refugee camps in Gaza, including al-Maghazi camp, in the last 24 hours and killed dozens of people, Palestinian officials have said.

At least 47 people were killed after Israel struck al-Maghazi refugee camp overnight on Saturday. Jabalia camp was also hit overnight, leaving at least six people dead.

On Sunday, an Israeli air strike hit residential buildings in the Bureij refugee camp, killing at least 20 Palestinians.

The victims of the air raid on al-Maghazi camp were taken to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-run enclave said in a statement.

Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier reported that the bombing killed 51 people, mostly women and children.

Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the number of casualties from the bombing, which comes days after air raids on the Jabalia and Bureij refugee camps that Palestinian officials say killed more than 200 people.

Israel’s military did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

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However, a military spokesperson told the AFP news agency it was investigating whether its forces had been operating in the area at the time.

The latest attacks came after the United States on Saturday rejected calls by Arab countries for an immediate ceasefire in the monthlong conflict.

At a news conference with his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts in Amman, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a full ceasefire would “leave Hamas in place to regroup and repeat attacks”.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has instead proposed localised “humanitarian pauses” to facilitate the delivery of aid into Gaza and efforts to secure the release of captives held by Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a temporary cessation in the war unless it involves the release of the more than 240 Israelis and foreigners believed to have been taken captive by the Palestinian armed group.

Blinken is on Sunday set to continue his tour of the Middle East – his second since the Israel-Hamas war began – with a two-day visit to Turkey.

At least 9,488 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its campaign to eliminate Hamas, according to Palestinian officials.

More than 1,400 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage during Hamas’s surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, according to Israeli officials.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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