Death toll after Israeli strike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza rises to 31

The death toll after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house at Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the Palestinian enclave, rose to 31, said Gaza's civil defence agency onSunday (May 19).This comes a day after Israeli troops and tanks pushed into parts of congested northern Gaza killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians, reported Reuters citing medics and residents.

Deadly strike on Nuseirat refugee camp

"The civil defence crew were able to recover 31 martyrs and 20 wounded from a house belonging to the Hassan family, which was targeted by the Israeli occupation forces in the Nuseirat camp," Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told journalists.

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This comes after theAl-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said at least 20 people had been killed due to the Israeli strike.

“We received 20 fatalities and several wounded after an Israeli air strike targeted a house belonging to the Hassan family in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza,” the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital had said, in a statement, as quoted by news agency AFP.

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The news agency citing witnesses said that the airstrike occurred around 3:00 am (local time), while the Israeli army said that they were checking reports.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that several children were among those wounded and that the rescuers were searching for those missing under the rubble.

Heavy Israeli bombardment has been reported in the central Nuseirat camp since the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a “targeted” operation focusing on the city of Rafah, earlier this month.

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Witnesses, according to AFP, said several other houses were targeted in air strikes during the night across Gaza. Additionally, air strikes and artillery shelling also hit parts of Rafah overnight.

At least 800,000 Gazans have evacuated from Rafah: UN

The Israeli forces, earlier this month, issued evacuation orders for Rafah, a southern city in the Palestinian enclave near the Egyptian border packed with hundreds of thousands of Gazans displaced amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Around 800,000 Palestinians have been “forced to flee” Rafah amid Israel’s military operation, said the United Nations, on Saturday.

“In response to evacuation orders demanding people to flee to so-called safe zones, people mainly went to the middle areas and Khan Younis including to destroyed buildings,” said UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, in a post on X.

He added, “Every time, they are forced to leave behind the few belongings they have:  mattresses, tents, cooking utensils and basic supplies that they cannot carry or pay to transport. Every time, they have to start from scratch, all over again.”

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The Hamas-run health ministry and the Civil Emergency Service said teams received dozens of calls about possible casualties but were unable to carry out any searches because of the ongoing ground offensive and aerial bombardment, reported Reuters, on Saturday.

“Today is the most difficult in terms of the occupation bombardment, air strikes and tank shelling have going on almost non-stop,” a resident in Jabalia, Ibrahim Khaled, told Reuters.

He added, “We know of dozens of people, martyrs (killed) and wounded, but no ambulance vehicle can get into the area.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.