Two Palestinians were killed and ten others injured on Tuesday following a strike carried out by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) targeting a civilian vehicle in the Al Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that its field hospital in Al Mawasi received two fatalities and ten injured individuals as a result of the strike, without providing further details regarding their identities or the nature of their injuries.
Eyewitnesses reported that the area targeted by the strike is densely populated with tents housing displaced civilians, which explains the high number of casualties and highlights the danger of targeting areas that are supposed to serve as temporary shelter for people fleeing the conflict.
Targeting civilians or civilian objects constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which emphasises that attacks must not cause excessive harm to civilians. International law also prohibits acts that may amount to war crimes, including attacks on populated areas or civilian transport.
The recurrence of such incidents reflects the absence of effective accountability mechanisms and contributes to a climate of impunity, leaving civilians under constant threat. It also underscores the fragility of civilian protection, even under de-escalation arrangements such as the ceasefire in force since October ten, twenty twenty-five, which has not prevented further casualties among Palestinians. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the ceasefire period alone has resulted in the killing of six hundred and seventy-one Palestinians and the injury of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine others.
Since October eighth, twenty twenty-three, the occupation has been waging a war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of more than seventy-two thousand Palestinians and injuries to around one hundred seventy-two thousand others, in addition to widespread destruction affecting most infrastructure. This reflects a continued pattern of targeting civilians and their property in violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
