Three Palestinians are killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrike on Gaza refugee camp, witnesses say – as second convoy of 14 aid trucks enters besieged enclave
- The strike hit the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza strip, medics and witnesses said
At least three Palestinians were killed on Sunday night and several others were wounded in an Israeli air strike in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza strip, medics and witnesses told Reuters news agency.
Other reports, including from Al Jazeera, said the death toll was higher. The Qatar-owned news channel said 13 had been killed in the strike on two residences in the camp, and that 27 others – most of them children – were injured.
Those that were injured were evacuated to an Indonesian hospital, medical sources told the outlet. The same hospital warned of a ‘catastrophe’ if it didn’t get more fuel soon, saying it could be forced to stop surgeries.
The strikes come as a second convoy of 14 aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side to the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday night.
Juliette Touma, director of communications at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), confirmed the trucks crossed the border to Reuters news agency by phone from Amman.
A view of rubbles as the Israeli airstrikes continue on its 16th day in Gaza City, Gaza on October 22, 2023
Earlier, Israel’s military said one of its tanks accidentally hit an Egyptian position near the border with the Gaza Strip. Witnesses reported a blast and ambulance sirens on the border.
Several Egyptian border guards sustained minor injuries after being hit by fragments of an Israeli tank shell, a spokesperson for the Egyptian army said.
A witness and a medical source said seven people were wounded and taken to hospital.
Israel’s defence force ‘expresses sorrow regarding the incident, which is being investigated,’ it said in a statement, giving no further details.
A first convoy of 20 trucks of badly-needed supplies had entered Gaza on Saturday through Rafah, which had previously been out of operation after bombardments hit on the Gaza side of the border and amid wrangling over conditions for delivering aid.
Distribution of those supplies began on Sunday, but aid officials are still warning of a humanitarian disaster as supplies of food, water and fuel run low.
The second convoy of aid trucks cross the Rafah border from the Egyptian side on October 22, 2023 in North Sinai, Egypt
Israel imposed a total blockade and launched air strikes on Gaza in response to a deadly attack on Israeli soil by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The Rafah crossing, the main entry and exit point to Gaza that does not lead to Israel, has become the focus of a push to deliver aid as humanitarian conditions in Gaza worsen.
U.N. officials say at least 100 trucks a day would be required in Gaza to cover urgent needs. Before the outbreak of the most recent conflict, several hundred trucks had been arriving in the enclave daily.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told Reuters on Saturday that work was under way to develop a ‘light’ inspection system, whereby Israel could check the shipments but ensure a sustained flow.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
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