Beijing, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ashraf Zidra, a spokesman for the Palestinian health department in the Gaza Strip, said on Dec. 24 that the Israeli military launched an airstrike on the Mgazy refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip that night, killing 70 people, and the death toll may rise further.
On December 24, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, people inspect damage following an Israeli attack. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Rizek Abduljawad).
On the same day, the Israeli army said that the bodies of five Israeli detainees had recently been found in a network of Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel is investigating the matter.
Pakistan condemned it. Reuters 24** said that Zidra condemned the Israeli army's actions, saying that the Israeli army airstrikes the densely populated Megazi refugee camp, and many of the victims were women and children.
In a statement, Hamas accused Israeli air strikes on refugee camps as "terrorist" and "new war crimes."
On 11 December, in the Maigazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, people inspect the ruins after an Israeli attack. Xinhua News Agency.
Ahmed Turokmani, a Palestinian who lost many loved ones in the airstrikes, said that "we have all been attacked" and that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said it was investigating the airstrike and said it had taken steps to reduce the damage to civilians.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged a Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire on social media on the 24th, and pointed out that "the massive destruction of the medical system in the Gaza Strip is a tragedy."
Since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in early October, hospitals in the Gaza Strip have not only faced shortages of fuel, medicine, food, water and medical workers, but have also been constantly exposed to Israeli artillery attacks.
As of the 20th of this month, there had been 246 attacks on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals and ambulances, resulting in 582 deaths and 748 injuries, according to WHO data.
Israeli military investigation. The Israeli army said on the 24th that the bodies of five detainees were recently found in a Hamas tunnel network in the northern Gaza Strip, and that the Israeli side will conduct an autopsy and inform the family and the public of the results.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli forces found the bodies of two of them two weeks ago and three others days later. Hamas posted a video last week showing three of them in a cramped, unventilated room with Hebrew subtitles: "Your (Israeli) military ** killed these three people." Hamas has repeatedly claimed that some of the detainees have died as a result of Israeli bombardments and other military operations in the Gaza Strip.
This December 17 IDF release shows Israeli ground forces discovering a large underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip. Xinhua News Agency.
On the 24th, the Israeli army also released a video taken in the tunnel: part of the tunnel is paved with white tiles, a bathroom is equipped with a shower, toilet and sink, and a black concrete passage connects the toilet to a workshop with small tables and stools.
According to the Israeli army, the tunnel network is divided into two layers, one 10 meters underground, and the other "tens of meters" down. One of the tunnels extends to the home of one of Hamas's commanders in charge of fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. The commander died in an Israeli military operation last month.
In the middle of this month, Israeli forces mistakenly killed three Israeli detainees during a military operation in the northern Gaza Strip. This incident caused an uproar in Israel, and popular demonstrations broke out in Tel Aviv and other places, demanding the speedy and safe rescue of other detained Israeli personnel. (Wang Yijun).