The number of victims is expected to be very high: a bombing hit several buildings in the Jabaliya refugee camp on Tuesday, October 31, in the north of the Gaza Strip. Images provided by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters show a huge crater and very significant destruction in the surrounding area.
In a video shot by AFP-TV, there are at least forty-seven bodies, draped in shrouds, lying on the ground of a hospital courtyard after being pulled from the rubble – but the number of victims could be most important. The Gaza health ministry, administered by Hamas, announced a provisional death toll of at least fifty deaths, and denounced a raid carried out by the Israeli army.
Several Palestinians are currently conducting a search and rescue operation, while inspecting the debris of destroyed buildings. “I heard a huge explosion that shook all of Jabaliya. I went to look and it was an earthquake scene”a resident of the camp, Ragheb Aqel, aged 41, told AFP. “It’s horrible, a large number of bodies, injured people, broken bones, are buried under the rubble. » Dozens of camp residents “are under the rubble”says the Gaza Ministry of Health.
A few hours later, the Israeli army confirmed, Telegramhaving bombed the Jabaliya refugee camp, claiming to have killed a Hamas commander there who was, according to her, one of those responsible for the attack launched in Israel by the Palestinian movement on October 7.
“Its elimination took place as part of a large operation to combat terrorists and terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Jabaliya Central Battalion, which had taken control of civilian buildings in the Gaza Strip”the army said.