Israeli Airstrike Targets Hamas Commander, Causes Devastation in Jabalya Refugee Camp

An Israeli airstrike in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza has led to catastrophic damage and a significant loss of life.

The airstrike, which targeted a senior Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, has been condemned by several nations including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan and Egypt, as well as international organizations.

Israel has said it is the "second phase" of its war to eliminate Hamas. According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the airstrike aimed to eliminate Biari, who was one of the leaders responsible for the “murderous terror attack” on October 7. Biari was also allegedly involved in dispatching “terrorists” in the 2004 Ashdod Port Terror Attack which left 13 Israelis dead. He was accused of directing rocket attacks towards Israel over the course of two decades and advancing attacks against IDF forces.

The IDF claimed that many other Hamas members were also killed in the strike, and it disrupted the group's activities in civilian buildings.

“Over the past day, IDF troops operated in a Hamas terrorist stronghold in Jabalya, northern Gaza. The stronghold was used for training and execution of terrorism activities. During the ground activity, the troops eliminated approximately 50 terrorists, as well as destroyed entrances to terrorist tunnels and weapons,” the IDF announced on social media Tuesday. Additionally, underground terrorist infrastructure collapsed following the strike.

The IDF “reiterated its call to the residents of the area to move south for their safety.”

Hamas, however, denied Biari's presence in the refugee camp, accusing Israel of committing a "heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp."

Israeli fighters dropped six one-ton U.S.-made bombs on Jabalya: Reports

Unconfirmed reports claim that Israel used six one-ton U.S.-made bombs to target Jabalya.

At least 400 Palestinians were either killed or wounded, on Tuesday after Israeli warplanes hit the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas-run Interior Ministry spokesperson Iyad al-Bozzom said in a press statement sent to Xinhua that "Israeli warplanes bombed a residential neighborhood in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip with seven bombs, each carrying a thousand tons of explosives."

Jabalya, like other Gaza Strip refugee camps, is densely populated with homes, shops, and apartments, with narrow roads. It became home to many Palestinian refugees following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when they fled villages that became part of Israel, as per UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA notes that Jabalya is the largest refugee camp in Gaza, covering 1.4 square kilometers, and has struggled with overcrowding. It is also one of the enclave's most impoverished areas, featuring bustling open-air markets.

Images from the camp after the air strikes show complete devastation, including large craters formed in the ground. Eyewitnesses claimed they saw about six missiles falling, which left huge craters on the ground. Some said the Israeli Defence Forces’ attack felt like an earthquake.

In the meantime, Israeli military forces and tanks are pushing further into densely populated areas in northern Gaza, which include Jabalia. Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza involve three primary routes of advance: one along the coastal north of Gaza City, another from the northeast with the entry into Beit Hanoun after intense confrontations, and the most significant movement is seen to the south of Gaza City, where the IDF has crossed the Salah Al Deen Road and is moving closer to the coastline.

U.S.’ reaction to civilian deaths in Gaza

During a White House briefing on the Jabalya strike and Israel's protection of Palestinian civilians, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that the U.S. has noticed their efforts. He stressed that they can't react to every event in real-time but expressed their recognition of civilian casualties, emphasizing that the U.S. doesn't accept any civilian deaths in Gaza. “Civilians have been killed to the tune of many thousands … We recognize that, we observe that, and we’re not accepting of any single civilian death in Gaza.”

He added that “it is not the goal of Israeli forces to go out and deliberately take innocent civilian life and they have tried to make efforts to minimize that.”