Multiple deaths and injuries have been reported at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, media reported quoting the Hamas-run health ministry.
The director of the nearby Indonesian hospital, say at least 50 people have been killed in the Israeli attack, BBC reported.
Located north of Gaza City, the Jabalia camp is the largest of Gaza's eight refugee camps. Just over 116,000 Palestinian refugees were registered there by the UN as of July 2023.
Refugees began settling in the camp after the 1948 war. It's a small but densely populated area, only covering 1.4 sq km, and is largely made up of residential buildings, BBC reported.
Jabalia has 26 schools in 16 school buildings, a food distribution centre, two health centres, a library and seven water wells.
Along with the Shati camp, Jabalia lies in area that Israel has declared an evacuation zone. Refugees began settling in the camp after the 1948 war. It's a small but densely populated area, only covering 1.4 sq km, and is largely made up of residential buildings, BBC reported.
Jabalia has 26 schools in 16 school buildings, a food distribution centre, two health centres, a library and seven water wells. Along with the Shati camp, Jabalia lies in the area that Israel has declared as an evacuation zone.
Reacting strongly, Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit has condemned the deadly Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp. In a statement on Tuesday, the AL chief said that it was "a new crime" in Gaza and that the international community should no longer remain silent.
Arab nations condemn attack
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement the attack was a "flagrant violation of international laws". Jordan's Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack and said Jordan held Israel responsible for the dangerous development.
It also denounced Israel's ongoing escalation of tension in the West Bank and Israeli settlers' increasing attacks on Palestinian civilians. It also called on the international community to assume its responsibility, stop the ongoing conflict, and provide international protection for Palestinians.
Israeli warplanes hit the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday. After the attack, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said in a statement that more than 50 people were killed, approximately 150 others injured, and "dozens" of others buried under the rubble.
Hamas commander killed in air strikes: Israeli Army
Israeli fighter jets have killed the Hamas commander, who engineered the deadly attacks on the borders on October 7, in the first hours of the expanded ground attacks and incursion into Gaza, reports citing Israeli authorities said.
Nasim Abu Ajina, who previously led Hamas' Aerial Array, and helped them develop drone and paraglider warfare, was killed in the air strikes, Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
"His elimination significantly harms the efforts of the Hamas terrorist organization to disrupt the IDF's ground activities," USA Today reported quoting the statement. He was commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion of Hamas' Northern Brigade, suspected to be behind the brain behind the border attacks.
The IDF claimed it struck nearly 300 targets on Monday, including anti-tank missiles and military compounds inside underground Hamas tunnels. Israeli soldiers killed militants and the air force targetted their terror infrastructure, the IDF said.
An Iranian general claimed that Hamaz has 400 km of underground tunnel network in Gaza indicating hunting them down was not an easy task. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said ground operations in Gaza are focused on the north, that includes Gaza City, suspected to be the epicentre of Hams military offensive.
Hunting down Hamas commanders
"But we also continue to strike in other parts of Gaza. We are hunting their commanders, we are attacking their infrastructure, and whenever there is an important target that is related to Hamas, we strike it," he said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud at the White House on Monday as the Biden administration stepped up efforts from preventing the Hamas war spiralling into a greater theatre of war in the Gulf region.
A readout released by the White House said both parties reiterated the urgent need to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. They stressed the importance of a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
(With inputs from IANS)
