[News] Israeli bombs 'vaporizing' civilians in Gaza's 'humanitarian zone'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-bombs--vaporizing--civilians-in-gaza-s--humanitarian>
Israeli bombs 'vaporizing' civilians in Gaza's 'humanitarian zone'
Al Mayadeen English
December 18, 2024
------------------------------

The strikes in Mawasi differ from those in urban areas, as they involve
large bombs creating craters up to 15 meters in diameter, according to a
New York Times investigation.
[image: 605400be-a520-4624-9c3b-31c58404912e.jpg]

   - Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen from
   occupied Palestine, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli website *Haaretz *on Thursday reported on the dire situation in
Gaza's Mawasi area, which has been subjected to repeated airstrikes despite
being designated by the Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) as a "humanitarian
zone."

On December 4, an airstrike on the Mawasi refugee camp killed 23 people,
including four children and two women, one of whom was pregnant. The UN
Human Rights Council issued a report on the attack, which destroyed 21
tents.

The IOF claimed the strike targeted Hamas operatives and that secondary
explosions indicated the presence of munitions. However, the UN report
rejected this claim, concluding, "According to information available to the
UN Human Rights office, the secondary explosions were caused by hitting
cooking gas balloons."

Mawasi, a 14-square-kilometer strip of sand dunes in southwest Gaza, has
become a crowded encampment for hundreds of thousands of displaced people
following IOF instructions for civilians to move there. Despite its
classification as a safe zone, the area has witnessed intensified bombings,
with aid groups reporting significant civilian casualties.

The UN estimates that around 30,000 people per square kilometer live in the
area, enduring harsh conditions, including shortages of food, clean water,
and proper shelter.
Vaporized bodies

The strikes in Mawasi differ from those in urban areas, as they involve
large bombs creating craters up to 15 meters in diameter, according to a *New
York Times* investigation. "It looks like Nagasaki," said Georgios
Petropoulos, head of the Gaza branch of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Describing the aftermath of one bombing, he
added, "They counted the bodies, but there are people who simply vaporized
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-forces-bombed-al-mawasi-camp-using-us-made-jdam-bomb>.
Ten or twenty people who were known to be in the tents have simply
vanished."

Humanitarian organizations have condemned the strikes. Doctors Without
Borders criticized the use of heavy weapons
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/experts-say--israel--likely-used-2-000-pound-us-bombs-in-maw>
in areas designated as safe, stating, "The use of heavy weapons in areas
which the Israeli authorities have declared to be safe is further proof of
the gross disregard for Palestinian lives and humanitarian law."

The IOF defends its actions, claiming that humanitarian zones "do not grant
immunity to terrorists" and that Hamas is "systematically exploiting the
humanitarian zones."
Humanitarian collapse

Amid the bombings, looting of humanitarian aid
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-aid-hits-crisis-point-despite-us-demands-on--israel---f>
has further complicated the crisis. UN officials report that aid convoys
have been ambushed and their supplies stolen, hampering relief efforts. On
Saturday, Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, confirmed that a 70-truck food convoy from the World
Food Program was looted shortly after crossing into Gaza.

Despite promises from Gaza's largest clans to curb looting, incidents
persist. Aid groups warn that the deteriorating situation in Gaza, combined
with the ongoing strikes, has left civilians with little hope. "They told
us to go to Mawasi, so we came to Mawasi and settled here," one displaced
person told *AFP*. "The area was bombed without prior warning."

*Read more: Israeli military facilitating Gaza aid looting by gangsters: FT
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-military-facilitating-gaza-aid-looting-by-gangsters>*

Senior UN officials caution that the escalating crisis and lack of safety
are driving some Gazans to stay in their homes despite the risks, with many
saying they would rather die in their homes than as refugees in tents.
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