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The Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis (September 2024) was a massacre committed by the Israeli Air Force in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in the early hours of September 10, 2024.[2] The airstrikes targeted the tents of displaced Palestinians built on dirt, and with high-explosive missiles that caused deep craters. This Israeli massacre resulted in the deaths of 40 Palestinians and the injury of 60 others, including entire families whose bodies were recovered from under the rubble.[3] The Israeli army claimed to have targeted a resistance command center at the site, as it had done in dozens of previous massacres, while the Palestinian factions (Hamas and Islamic Jihad in particular) denied all these reports, holding Israel and the US administration responsible for what happened.[4] Background[edit] Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa On October 7, 2023, Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched a large-scale military operation called Operation Flood of Al-Aqsa, launching coordinated attacks on military sites and Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip. This operation is considered the most prominent and largest operation launched by the Palestinian resistance against Israel in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and it led to a major war and varying escalation on several fronts.[5] The Israeli-Palestinian War During the war, Israel launched thousands of intensive air strikes on various cities and regions of the Gaza Strip, in addition to a ground incursion that included artillery shelling on the ground. During this war, Israel committed hundreds of massacres against Palestinian civilians, deliberately targeting residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools, leaving large numbers of dead and wounded amid massive destruction.[6] The Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis in July 2024. Khan Yunis and the Mawasi area were subjected to violent raids throughout the war, and the Mawasi area witnessed a horrific massacre in July 2024 when Israeli forces targeted the tents of displaced people in an area considered safe, where thousands of people had taken refuge. More than 90 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were wounded in this massacre. The bombing came after the Israeli authorities advised the displaced to seek refuge in this area. Most of the victims were women and children. Relief teams that tried to rescue the injured were also bombed, resulting in additional casualties among the paramedics. [7] The massacre [edit] Israeli missiles [edit] At 1:30 local time (GMT +03), Israeli warplanes launched a series of violent raids with high-explosive bombs on the tents of the displaced in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis (southern Gaza Strip). Journalists and Palestinians quickly arrived at the scene, along with ambulance crews, striving to save what could be saved. [8] Video clips showed people alongside paramedics digging with their hands and modest, primitive tools in an attempt to search for the remains of the bodies, some of which had been severed from the intensity of the bombing. The Civil Defense confirmed in an initial statement that the Israeli raids targeted a gathering of at least 20 tents in a populated area. The same organization also documented the presence of three large craters in the bombed area caused by missiles dropped by warplanes. These are heavy concussion missiles that cause severe destruction to anyone near the site and the death of everyone present at the site. [9] The Civil Defense spokesman announced that entire families disappeared in the Al-Mawasi massacre among the sands, as happened with the Fojo family. The Defense also documented the craters caused by the missiles, publishing photos and video clips of them, and their depth reached about 10 meters underground. The death toll from this massacre, according to updated data from the Civil Defense in Gaza, reached 40 dead and 60 wounded. [10] Israeli allegations[edit] Like any other massacre (not the last of which was a massacre in the same location in July of the same year), the Israeli occupation army quickly issued statements claiming that the target was a Hamas command and control center. In the same statement, the army claimed that it had taken several steps to reduce the possibility of civilian casualties in the attack, which does not appear to be true at all, given the number of victims and their identities. It also claimed to have used precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information. [11] Hamas, for its part, responded to the Israeli army’s statement through a lengthy statement in which it said, “The claims of the fascist occupation army that there were resistance elements at the targeted site are a blatant lie.” The movement confirmed that the resistance had repeatedly denied the presence of any of its members among civilian gatherings or the use of these places for military purposes. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, in turn, attacked the occupation army and, in a statement, held the US administration responsible for this massacre, as it is the main supplier of weapons to Israel.[12] Bombs used[edit] An earlier image of the American Mark 84 bomb, which is the bomb used by Israel in its raids on the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, killing 40 Palestinians and wounding 60 others. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor found in its investigations that the Israeli bombing of the Mawasi area was carried out with American-made MK 84 bombs, which is another name for the Mark 84 bomb.[a] The latter is a general-purpose bomb within the Mark 80 series of bombs used by the US armed forces. Known as the "iron bomb" due to its unguided design, it is considered one of the most powerful bombs in its class.[13] It weighs approximately 2,000 pounds (about 907 kg) and contains a payload of up to 945 pounds (429 kg) of a mixture of TNT and aluminum powder. The Mark 84 is characterized by its high capacity to inflict significant damage to targets due to its explosive force and its ability to penetrate fortifications. Washington supplied this type of bomb to its counterpart, Tel Aviv. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor investigation and report concluded that the use of bombs with wide-scale destruction is an indication of the intent to kill the largest possible number of civilians. [14] Victims[edit] The martyrs among the identified victims are:[15] Aseel Yasser Al-Arja Duaa Antar Foujo Youssef Ahmed Foujo Ahmed Khaled Foujo Nada Ahmed Foujo Shaima Jabr Al-Shaer Aline Raed Muammar Ahmed Ziad Hassouna - Enaya Salem Abdel Jaber Poet Rehan Zayed Poet Mahmoud Fawzi Poet Tariq Arafat Al-Qadi - Rafah In addition to Hisham Abu Bakra - Rafah Khaled Abu Sanima - Rafah (their bodies arrived at the European Hospital) Reactions[edit] Palestine[edit] Most Palestinian reactions focused on condemning the occupation’s massacre and denying the allegations and claims promoted by the Hebrew media regarding the presence of resistance fighters in the targeted location, especially the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements active in the Gaza Strip and waging the battle against Israel. The Palestinian presidency, for its part, this time, in an unusual statement, held the US administration responsible. Responsibility for the massacre and the continued storming of cities and camps in the West Bank, noting that Israel and the US administration must realize that the entire region is on the brink of a comprehensive explosion. [16][17] The Palestinian presidency said in a statement by spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh: “The continuation of the war of genocide and massacres committed against the Palestinian people, with American support, has put the region in jeopardy.” Abu Rudeineh held the administration of US President Joe Biden and the Israeli occupation “responsible for the new massacre in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, which led to the martyrdom and wounding of hundreds of Palestinians.”[18] In a joint statement, the Palestinian factions said that “the tents of the displaced people of Gaza have become ovens for the new Zionist holocaust,” noting that “the enemy’s allegations and flimsy justifications for committing this massacre and others are no longer fooling anyone.” The factions called on the Palestinian people wherever they are to “continue the resistance and escalate the confrontation with the Zionist-Nazi enemy wherever it is.”[19] Hamas Movement: The movement denied The Israeli occupation army’s claims that “any of its elements were among civilian gatherings or that these places were being used for military purposes” are considered a “blatant lie” through which the occupation seeks to justify its crimes. It condemned the massacre and said that “the brutal targeting in an area that the occupation had declared safe confirms the continuation of its Nazi government in its war of extermination against our Palestinian people, which deliberately commits horrific massacres with the full cover of the American administration, a partner in the aggression, indifferent to international or humanitarian law or the resolutions calling for an end to the aggression.” It called on the international community, the United Nations, and political, humanitarian, and judicial institutions to “assume their responsibility to stop this holocaust,” calling on them to take the necessary measures to “bring the Zionist war criminals to the International Criminal Court and hold them accountable.”[19] The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine condemned the massacre and said that it is “a new war crime for which the American administration, which supplies the entity with weapons, bears responsibility.” It stressed that “the normalization countries’ continued reception of representatives of the entity on their lands is a stab in the back of our Palestinian people.” It said that it is “betting on the likes of…” The Jordanian martyr Maher Al-Jazi conveyed the message of the Arab and Muslim peoples to the American administration and the occupying entity. [19] Fatah Movement: The movement condemned the massacre and said that it “holds the entire world before its responsibilities to stop the crimes of the occupation against our people and hold it accountable for all these crimes.” It indicated that this crime “demonstrates the genocidal aims of the occupation government, which has been practicing killing, terrorism, massacres, starvation, and deprivation of the most basic necessities of life to implement its plans since October 7, 2023.” It stressed that “this heinous massacre, which comes after a series of massacres committed by the occupation army using American weapons, reveals the falsity of the occupation’s claims about safe areas,” stressing that “these bloody massacres express the fascist nature of the colonial occupation system, which finds in genocide a means to implement its projects to liquidate the rights of our people.” It reiterated its affirmation that “the Palestinian people will remain steadfast on their homeland and will not leave and will thwart the occupation’s plans no matter the cost.”[ [20] Arab [edit] Egypt: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the massacre in a statement “in the strongest terms” and expressed its “denunciation of the continued Israeli massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the absence of any effective international action to put an end to this human suffering, which has become a real challenge to the credibility of all humanitarian standards and values and a violation of the most basic rules of international humanitarian law and human rights. The continued commission of these crimes in this manner and the disregard for the lives of innocents and civilians has become a threat to regional and international peace and security.” It called on all international actors “to move away from the policy of double standards and double standards, and to assume their humanitarian and moral responsibilities to stop this human tragedy immediately.”[21] Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed “Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the targeting of the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis and considered it a new attack in a series of repeated violations by the Israeli war machine against defenseless civilians.” It renewed its “categorical rejection of the continuation of Israeli genocide crimes” and demanded an immediate ceasefire. The Kingdom held the occupation forces responsible. [22] Qatar: The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned in a statement in the strongest terms the “brutal massacre” and stressed that “the continuation of the occupation’s heinous crimes against defenseless civilians, its blatant defiance of international laws and norms, and its poisonous desire for military escalation instead of a political path are an inevitable result of the international community’s silence and the absence of accountability.”[23] Internationally[edit] Turkey: The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the massacre, saying in a statement: “We condemn Israel’s killing of dozens of Palestinian civilians in the tents they are sheltering in in the so-called humanitarian zone, which (Israel) declared in Khan Yunis” and called for “holding it accountable for its crimes in the Strip” and stressed that “the perpetrators of these crimes will be held accountable before international law,” stressing the continued support of the Palestinians in their struggle for “Justice and freedom” and that “the Netanyahu government, which is practicing genocide against the Palestinians, has added a new crime to its war crimes.”[24] United Kingdom: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed his shock at the Israeli raid that occurred at dawn in the southern Gaza Strip and that it demonstrates “the need for a ceasefire.” Lammy said in a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “We are meeting at a crucial moment – a crucial moment to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. The horrific deaths in Khan Younis this morning only underline how urgently a ceasefire is needed.”[25] United Nations: UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike, and his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, denounced the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas as “unacceptable.” Dujarric also stated that “nowhere in Gaza is safe.”[26] UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland also condemned the strike on a densely populated area where displaced people were gathering.[27] The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the massacre, saying, "The far-right Israeli government continues to use Biden's one-ton bombs." It accused Israel of killing "Palestinians as if they were lambs to be slaughtered, not human beings deserving of life and liberty."