Omar Al-Qatta/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a makeshift prayer hall in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 13, 2024.
Jerusalem
CNN
—
At least 22 people were killed in an airstrike on Saturday that hit a makeshift mosque in a camp for displaced people in the west of the country. Gaza Cityaccording to an official at the hospital treating the injured.
The head of the emergency department at Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Amjad Aliwa, told CNN that 20 men were killed in the raid on the Al-Midan mosque in Al-Shati camp, and two other men died in the hospital on Sunday from their wounds.
CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment on this matter.
“The bombing occurred in the middle of the noon prayer,” Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told CNN, adding that all the injuries were serious and required amputations.
A video of the scene shows bodies lying on what appear to be prayer mats. Several dead and wounded people with missing limbs can be seen.
Omar Al-Qatta/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian mourners carry the bodies of relatives killed during an Israeli airstrike on a makeshift prayer hall in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City on July 13, 2024.
The UN Human Rights Office also commented on the incident in its report. Daily information On Saturday, the organization said: “At approximately 1300, the IDF reportedly shelled a makeshift mosque inside the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. Reports indicate that because the IDF struck shortly after noon prayers, many people were still inside or near the mosque.”
“The IDF has not yet commented on the incident. There were no reports of prior warning of either attack,” the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said, also referring to an Israeli attack. Raid on a camp for displaced persons in the southern Gaza Stripwhich Israel said targeted the Hamas military commander who was the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attacks.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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