Atleast 70 civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza. Several camps were destroyed and it has been estimated that the death toll may have risen even more given that a large number of families were staying there. Dozens of people, mostly children and women, were rushed to nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital with footage showing the faces of children covered in blood.
On Friday, the Israeli army also urged residents of Bureij camp and other central Gaza areas to promptly vacate their homes and relocate to the southern city of Deir el-Balah. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army spokesman, posted the message on social media. He stated, “To the residents of Al-Bureij Camp and the neighborhoods of Badr, the Northern Coast, Al-Nuzha, Al-Zahra, Al-Buraq, Al-Rawda, and Al-Safa in the areas south of Wadi Gaza: For your safety, you must move immediately to the shelter in Deir Al-Balah.”
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Since 7 October, up to 1.9 million people (or over 85 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some multiple times. Families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety, according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) data. UNRWA figures also show the total number of registered Palestinian refugees grew from 750,000 in 1950 to around five million in 2013.
The latest tally by the Gaza-based Health Ministry showed on Sunday that the Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks has reached 20,424, and 54,036 others were wounded since the conflict broke out on October 7.
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Consistent Israeli airstrikes on Gaza amid a situation of humanitarian crisis have brought down refugee colonies in rubbles. The biggest of the refugee camps, Jabaliya camp, was left in bricks and broken concrete after a large explosion ripped through the densely populated settlements.
The toll from the attack in the Jabaliya camp was not immediately known. The director of the nearby hospital where casualties were taken, Dr Atef Al-Kahlot, said hundreds of people were wounded or killed, but he did not provide exact figures.
After the Gaza genocide, the eight major refugee camps --- Jabalia, Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, Maghazi, Bureij, Nuseirat and Shati — have become even more crowded with thousands of people who left their homes to escape the violence.
Gaza refugee camps were originally established to temporarily house hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes and livelihoods during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. However, over the years they have become primary target points for the Israeli military base.
Food is scarce, power cuts are routine and roughly 95 per cent of the camps' populations don't have consistent access to clean water, according to UNRWA. Nearly half of the population is unemployed, without access to proper job opportunities.
