Israeli night strikes on Gaza's Al-Maghazi refugee camp kill 45
People check the damage caused by an Israeli strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Deir Balah, central Gaza Strip, Palestine, Nov. 5, 2023. (AFP Photo)


Dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured in Israeli airstrikes on a central Gaza refugee camp on midnight Saturday, according to multiple Palestinian sources.

The strikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp targeted the Sam'an family’s home in the Al-Maghazi camp, leaving dozens injured, according to the WAFA news agency, which added that most of the casualties were children and women.

The Israeli bombing destroyed the home and caused severe damage to neighboring homes and infrastructure, WAFA reported.

The Gazan Health Ministry in the besieged Gaza Strip said in a statement that "the number of martyrs in the Maghazi massacre has risen to 45."

Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra had initially reported 30 deaths.

Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram that Israel had "directly" bombed civilian homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.

"An Israeli airstrike targeted my neighbours' house in Al-Maghazi camp, my house next door partially collapsed," said Mohammed Alaloul, 37, a journalist working for the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

Alaloul told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) his 13-year-old son, Ahmed, and his 4-year-old son, Qais, were killed in the attack, along with his brother. His wife, mother, and two other children were injured.

The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.

"The death toll as a result of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 is 9,500, including 3,900 children and 2,509 women," Salama Marouf, the head of the Gaza Media Office, told a news conference Sunday.

In comparison, Israeli casualties stand at 1,540.