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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israeli bombs 'vaporizing' civilians in Gaza's 'humanitarian zone'</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">December 18, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>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.</p><img src="cid:ii_m4uowwsm0" alt="605400be-a520-4624-9c3b-31c58404912e.jpg" width="473" height="315"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip as seen
from occupied Palestine, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad
Zwigenberg)
</li></div></ul>
<p>Israeli website <em>Haaretz </em>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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>Vaporized bodies</h2>
<p>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 <em>New York Times</em> 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 <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-forces-bombed-al-mawasi-camp-using-us-made-jdam-bomb">vaporized</a>. Ten or twenty people who were known to be in the tents have simply vanished."</p>
<p>Humanitarian organizations have condemned the strikes. Doctors Without Borders criticized the use of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/experts-say--israel--likely-used-2-000-pound-us-bombs-in-maw">heavy weapons</a>
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."</p>
<p>The IOF defends its actions, claiming that humanitarian zones "do not
grant immunity to terrorists" and that Hamas is "systematically
exploiting the humanitarian zones." </p>
<h2>Humanitarian collapse</h2>
<p>Amid the bombings, looting of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-aid-hits-crisis-point-despite-us-demands-on--israel---f">humanitarian aid</a>
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.</p>
<p>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 <em>AFP</em>. "The area was bombed without prior warning."</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-military-facilitating-gaza-aid-looting-by-gangsters">Israeli military facilitating Gaza aid looting by gangsters: FT</a></strong></p>
<p>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. </p></div></div></div>
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