Yemen's Houthi rebels target Israel as region on edge for escalation of conflict
From CNN's Jessie Yeung, Hamdi Alkhshali and Kyle Blaine
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had thwarted an aerial attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, as fears rise across the region that the Israel-Hamas war could widen.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for the Houthi forces, told Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV that ballistic missiles and drones had been launched against targets in Israel in what he said was the third operation in support of the Palestinian people.
He added that there were plans for more strikes until the “Israeli aggression” ceased.
“Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and winged missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy,” he said,referring to all of Israel as “occupied territories.”
The Houthis are a Shia political and military organization in Yemen that have been fighting a civil war in the country against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia. They have voiced support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it had used its Arrow aerial defense system for the first time to successfully intercept a surface-to-surface missile that was fired from the area of the Red Sea.
The use of the Arrow defense system, which is designed to intercept high altitude missiles, indicates the Houthis used a more advanced, long-range missile in the attempted attack.
Israeli jets also intercepted what the IDF described as “aerial threats” in the area. The IDF said all threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory.
The attempted strikes on Israel mark an escalation by the Iran-backed Houthis, with regional rivalries heating up despite the United States scrambling to contain a potential Middle Eastern war.
Communications disrupted in Gaza, telecoms firms say
From CNN’s Manveena Suri and Abeer Salman
Internet service and communications went down again in Gaza on Wednesday, according to two telecoms companies, as Israel maintains its bombardment and expanded ground operation in the coastal enclave.
Communications have been repeatedly impacted in Gaza, with independent internet monitoring groups telling CNN that recent blackouts have been the worst since the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
In a statement Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) said there was "a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again."
The Jawwal Telecommunication Company also said its cellphone service was down, according to a statement on Facebook.
Calls and messages from CNN staff in Jerusalem to contacts with Gaza numbers on Wednesday did not connect.
23 min ago
Deadly Israeli strike rocks Gaza's largest refugee camp. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
An Israeli strike in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed a large number of people and has left catastrophic damage, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari — who was one of the leaders of the October 7 terror attack in Israel, according to spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.
Hamas however strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in the enclave's largest refugee camp, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said. He accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a "heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp."
Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, said the strike was a crime and urged the International Criminal Court to take action.
Here's the latest:
Strike impact: The Ministry of Interior in Gaza reported that 20 homes "were completely destroyed" in the Jabalya camp. "Hundreds" of dead and injured people arrived at Gaza's Indonesian hospital, its director, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, told CNN, adding that many people are still under the rubble. Another doctor described a "scene no one can imagine" at the hospital — there are "charred bodies in the hundreds" and "patients and injured are on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area" of one of Gaza's largest hospitals, said Dr. Mohammad al Rann.
Global reaction: A Doctors Without Borders nurse said the group was "horrified" by the Jabalya strike as reaction poured in worldwide. Jordan's king stressed "the importance of a ceasefire" with US officials, while Bolivia said it is cutting diplomatic relations with Israel, citing "crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people." Chile and Colombia meanwhile recalled their ambassadors to Israel for consultation.
US diplomacy: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel at the end of this week, a State Department spokesperson said. It comes after Blinken's opening remarks at the Senate committee hearing Tuesday were interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Approximately 400 Americans and their family members — about 1,000 people total — are stuck in Gaza and seeking to leave, Blinken said. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he has “repeatedly made clear” to Israeli leaders that they must ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.
Death toll mounts: At least8,485 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to an update Tuesday from the Palestinian Ministry of Health based in the West Bank, quoting data sourced from within Hamas-controlled Gaza. In addition, more than 21,000 people have been injured, it added. About 73% of the deaths are women, children and the elderly, the ministry reported. And amid Israel's ground operation, the country's military claimed it killed "approximately 50 Hamas terrorists" in northern Gaza on Tuesday.
Aid trickles in: Dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Tuesday evening it received 59 trucks. By late Tuesday evening, 70 trucks had entered the strip, the spokesperson for Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement. The shipments include "only water, food, and medical equipment," according to COGAT. Israel has refused to allow vital fuel supplies into Gaza, citing the risk of it being stolen by Hamas.
Patient transfer: The Rafah crossing is set to open Wednesday morning to allow 81 wounded Palestinians from Gaza treatment in Egyptian hospitals, according to an Egyptian border official. Gaza's Al Shifa hospital director Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiyeh told CNN most of the patients require surgical intervention in operating rooms, a procedure not currently available in the enclave.
Wider conflict: The Israeli military said early Wednesday it continues to intercept threats on its northern border with Lebanon and its southern border near the Red Sea amid fears of a wider regional conflict. Israel has been trading fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants on its northern border for weeks, while on Tuesday Israel said it thwarted an aerial threat that Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed credit for.
22 min ago
Dozens of humanitarian aid trucks crossed into Gaza, officials say
From CNN’s Hadas Gold and Abeer Salman
Volunteers stand in front of trucks carrying humanitarian aid at the Rafah border crossing, on October 31. Ahmed Hatem/AP
Dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Tuesday evening it received 59 trucks. By late Tuesday evening, 70 trucks had entered the strip, the spokesperson for Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement.
The shipments include “only water, food, and medical equipment," according to the COGAT spokesperson.
The decision was made “at the request of the US Administration, and in accordance with instructions from the political echelon” the statement said.
“The transfer, the source, and the destination of the aid are monitored by Israel,” the COGAT statement read. “Any other attempt to provide supplies, not coordinated with and approved by Israel, will be blocked.”
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it has received a total of 217 trucks so far, but fuel has not been allowed to enter Gaza yet.
1 hr 31 min ago
What we know about Israel's ongoing military ground operation in Gaza
From CNN's Andrew Carey, Ivana Kottasová, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Paul Murphy, Henrik Pettersson and Lou Robinson
The Israeli army began its full ground operation in Gaza on Friday, moving tanks, bulldozers, infantrymen and combat engineer units into the strip.
But rather than make any quick advance on Gaza City, Israeli forces so far appear to have moved only slowly toward the enclave’s largest population center.
Drawing on videos and photos from open and official sources, and reporting from CNN teams on the ground, it appears Israeli forces crossed the border in three main locations.
The first is in the northwest corner of the strip. A video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday morning showed bulldozers pushing through sand very close to the seashore. A breach in the perimeter fence, through which Israeli vehicles appeared to have entered Gaza, is clearly visible. But there is also evidence of Israeli forces close to the sea further south from this location. On Sunday, a video circulated showed Israeli soldiers waving a flag from the roof of a resort hotel, geolocated by CNN to Atatra, which lies about 2 miles south of the perimeter fence. On Tuesday, photos released by the Israeli army showed soldiers even deeper into the strip, just to the north of the Al-Shati, or Beach, refugee camp, which would put them only 3 miles or so from the center of Gaza City.
A second point at which Israeli forces appear to have entered Gaza is from the northeastern corner of the strip near the town of Beit Hanoun, according to footage and satellite imagery. Video distributed by the Israeli army and geolocated by CNN shows dozens of soldiers advancing on foot across sandy terrain and, in a different clip, a bulldozer pushing through sandy soil to create a lane free from IEDs. Videos show deserted buildings that have sustained massive damage from Israeli aerial and artillery strikes ahead of the ground operation. There is no visible presence in the footage of civilians or Hamas militants, indicating people had fled or withdrawn before the Israeli military arrived. Even so, a CNN team just a mile or so away on the Israeli side of the border reported hearing sporadic machine gun fire, and on Tuesday morning multiple explosions from the same direction. The CNN team reported the number of Israeli military vehicles inside the perimeter appears to be increasing, as the IDF appears to have expanded the ground operation once again.
A possible third entry point about 10 miles to the south, along the eastern perimeter, is pointed to in video evidence that surfaced on Monday. The video, filmed by freelance Palestinian journalist Yousif Al Saifi, showed an Israeli tank opening fire on a car on the main Salah Al Din road, which runs the length of the strip. The video was geolocated by CNN to just south of the Netzarim junction, named after a former Israeli settlement, and likely regarded by Israel as a strategic location to hold if it wants to divide northern Gaza from the south.
Hamas claims it will release some foreign hostages in the coming days
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
Hamas will free some foreign nationals they are holding hostage in the coming days, according to a spokesperson for the group's military wing.
"Some countries have intervened through mediators to free some foreign nationals' detainees in Gaza," Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, said in a video clip on Tuesday. "We received the requests of these countries," he said, without naming the nations. "Therefore, we informed the mediators that we will release a number of foreigners in the coming days."
Obeida did not give further details on the nationalities and numbers of hostages Hamas claimed it will free.
Addressing the Israel Defense Forces' announcement that it rescued an Israeli solider from Hamas captivity on Monday, Obeida said none of the hostages Hamas is holding have been rescued and suggested the solider may have been held by another group.
3 hr 14 min ago
UN human rights official quits over "genocide" in Gaza and blames the West
From CNN's Richard Roth
A United Nations human rights official is leaving his job over what he calls a "genocide" in Gaza that the UN has failed to stop.
Craig Mokhiber, director of the UN's New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a letter that Gaza is a textbook case of genocide.
Mokhiber, who said he lived in Gaza working on human rights for the UN in the 1990s, accused the United States, the United Kingdom and European countries of giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s alleged atrocities.
In the letter, which began with a statement acknowledging it would be his last official communication in his position, Mokhiber wrote that after witnessing what happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, and to Rohingya civilians in Myanmar, the UN has repeatedly failed to stop genocide.
“High Commissioner, we are failing again,” he said in the letter sent to the UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk in Geneva.
The UN Secretary-General press secretary said Mokhiber is retiring as of Tuesday.
CNN has reached out to Mokhiber for comment
CNN's Tara John contributed reporting to this post.
19 min ago
Eyewitness to IDF airstrike on Gaza camp: "It felt like the end of the world"
From CNN’s Abeer Salman in Jerusalem
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of a strike in Jabalya Refugee Camp in Gaza on October 31. Anas al-Shareef/Reuters
An eyewitness to the Israel Defense Forces strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza told CNN he saw an F-16 aircraft fire several missiles at the camp.
“I was waiting in line to buy bread when suddenly and without any prior warning, seven to eight missiles fell from an F-16 on al-Yafawiya neighbourhood in the refugee camp,” Mohammad Ibrahim told CNN.
“There were seven to eight huge holes in the ground, full of killed people, body parts all over the place,” he said. “It felt like the end of the world.”
Photos from the site of the strike showed multiple deep craters, surrounded by destroyed or damaged buildings. Video also showed people searching through the rubble for survivors.
Dr. Atef al-Kalhout, the head of the nearby Indonesian hospital, where large numbers of the dead and wounded have flooded in, estimated that scores had been killed in the strike. The hospital is the nearest major medical facility to Jabalya and is one of the most damaged in Gaza due to multiple strikes in the vicinity.
Videos from the hospital showed a long line of bodies lying on the floor as well as large numbers of wounded people, including children, as doctors rushed to treat their injuries. Many of the injured are seen treated on the floor because of the hospital’s overcrowded conditions.
Meanwhile, the head of the main UN agency operating in Gaza said the enclave's entire population is "being dehumanized," as multiple UN bodies call for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aidto enter. On Monday,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a pause in fighting, saying "this is a time for war."
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had thwarted an aerial attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, as fears rise across the region that the Israel-Hamas war could widen.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for the Houthi forces, told Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV that ballistic missiles and drones had been launched against targets in Israel in what he said was the third operation in support of the Palestinian people.
He added that there were plans for more strikes until the “Israeli aggression” ceased.
“Our armed forces launched a large batch of ballistic and winged missiles and a large number of drones at various targets of the Israeli enemy,” he said,referring to all of Israel as “occupied territories.”
The Houthis are a Shia political and military organization in Yemen that have been fighting a civil war in the country against a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia. They have voiced support for the Palestinians and organized protests in Yemen against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it had used its Arrow aerial defense system for the first time to successfully intercept a surface-to-surface missile that was fired from the area of the Red Sea.
The use of the Arrow defense system, which is designed to intercept high altitude missiles, indicates the Houthis used a more advanced, long-range missile in the attempted attack.
Israeli jets also intercepted what the IDF described as “aerial threats” in the area. The IDF said all threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory.
The attempted strikes on Israel mark an escalation by the Iran-backed Houthis, with regional rivalries heating up despite the United States scrambling to contain a potential Middle Eastern war.
Internet service and communications went down again in Gaza on Wednesday, according to two telecoms companies, as Israel maintains its bombardment and expanded ground operation in the coastal enclave.
Communications have been repeatedly impacted in Gaza, with independent internet monitoring groups telling CNN that recent blackouts have been the worst since the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.
In a statement Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) said there was "a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip, due to international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again."
The Jawwal Telecommunication Company also said its cellphone service was down, according to a statement on Facebook.
Calls and messages from CNN staff in Jerusalem to contacts with Gaza numbers on Wednesday did not connect.
An Israeli strike in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed a large number of people and has left catastrophic damage, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari — who was one of the leaders of the October 7 terror attack in Israel, according to spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.
Hamas however strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in the enclave's largest refugee camp, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said. He accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a "heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp."
Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, said the strike was a crime and urged the International Criminal Court to take action.
Here's the latest:
Strike impact: The Ministry of Interior in Gaza reported that 20 homes "were completely destroyed" in the Jabalya camp. "Hundreds" of dead and injured people arrived at Gaza's Indonesian hospital, its director, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, told CNN, adding that many people are still under the rubble. Another doctor described a "scene no one can imagine" at the hospital — there are "charred bodies in the hundreds" and "patients and injured are on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area" of one of Gaza's largest hospitals, said Dr. Mohammad al Rann.
Global reaction: A Doctors Without Borders nurse said the group was "horrified" by the Jabalya strike as reaction poured in worldwide. Jordan's king stressed "the importance of a ceasefire" with US officials, while Bolivia said it is cutting diplomatic relations with Israel, citing "crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people." Chile and Colombia meanwhile recalled their ambassadors to Israel for consultation.
US diplomacy: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel at the end of this week, a State Department spokesperson said. It comes after Blinken's opening remarks at the Senate committee hearing Tuesday were interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Approximately 400 Americans and their family members — about 1,000 people total — are stuck in Gaza and seeking to leave, Blinken said. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he has “repeatedly made clear” to Israeli leaders that they must ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.
Death toll mounts: At least8,485 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to an update Tuesday from the Palestinian Ministry of Health based in the West Bank, quoting data sourced from within Hamas-controlled Gaza. In addition, more than 21,000 people have been injured, it added. About 73% of the deaths are women, children and the elderly, the ministry reported. And amid Israel's ground operation, the country's military claimed it killed "approximately 50 Hamas terrorists" in northern Gaza on Tuesday.
Aid trickles in: Dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Tuesday evening it received 59 trucks. By late Tuesday evening, 70 trucks had entered the strip, the spokesperson for Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement. The shipments include "only water, food, and medical equipment," according to COGAT. Israel has refused to allow vital fuel supplies into Gaza, citing the risk of it being stolen by Hamas.
Patient transfer: The Rafah crossing is set to open Wednesday morning to allow 81 wounded Palestinians from Gaza treatment in Egyptian hospitals, according to an Egyptian border official. Gaza's Al Shifa hospital director Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiyeh told CNN most of the patients require surgical intervention in operating rooms, a procedure not currently available in the enclave.
Wider conflict: The Israeli military said early Wednesday it continues to intercept threats on its northern border with Lebanon and its southern border near the Red Sea amid fears of a wider regional conflict. Israel has been trading fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants on its northern border for weeks, while on Tuesday Israel said it thwarted an aerial threat that Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed credit for.
Volunteers stand in front of trucks carrying humanitarian aid at the Rafah border crossing, on October 31. Ahmed Hatem/AP
Dozens of trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Tuesday evening it received 59 trucks. By late Tuesday evening, 70 trucks had entered the strip, the spokesperson for Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement.
The shipments include “only water, food, and medical equipment," according to the COGAT spokesperson.
The decision was made “at the request of the US Administration, and in accordance with instructions from the political echelon” the statement said.
“The transfer, the source, and the destination of the aid are monitored by Israel,” the COGAT statement read. “Any other attempt to provide supplies, not coordinated with and approved by Israel, will be blocked.”
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it has received a total of 217 trucks so far, but fuel has not been allowed to enter Gaza yet.
The Israeli army began its full ground operation in Gaza on Friday, moving tanks, bulldozers, infantrymen and combat engineer units into the strip.
But rather than make any quick advance on Gaza City, Israeli forces so far appear to have moved only slowly toward the enclave’s largest population center.
Drawing on videos and photos from open and official sources, and reporting from CNN teams on the ground, it appears Israeli forces crossed the border in three main locations.
The first is in the northwest corner of the strip. A video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday morning showed bulldozers pushing through sand very close to the seashore. A breach in the perimeter fence, through which Israeli vehicles appeared to have entered Gaza, is clearly visible. But there is also evidence of Israeli forces close to the sea further south from this location. On Sunday, a video circulated showed Israeli soldiers waving a flag from the roof of a resort hotel, geolocated by CNN to Atatra, which lies about 2 miles south of the perimeter fence. On Tuesday, photos released by the Israeli army showed soldiers even deeper into the strip, just to the north of the Al-Shati, or Beach, refugee camp, which would put them only 3 miles or so from the center of Gaza City.
A second point at which Israeli forces appear to have entered Gaza is from the northeastern corner of the strip near the town of Beit Hanoun, according to footage and satellite imagery. Video distributed by the Israeli army and geolocated by CNN shows dozens of soldiers advancing on foot across sandy terrain and, in a different clip, a bulldozer pushing through sandy soil to create a lane free from IEDs. Videos show deserted buildings that have sustained massive damage from Israeli aerial and artillery strikes ahead of the ground operation. There is no visible presence in the footage of civilians or Hamas militants, indicating people had fled or withdrawn before the Israeli military arrived. Even so, a CNN team just a mile or so away on the Israeli side of the border reported hearing sporadic machine gun fire, and on Tuesday morning multiple explosions from the same direction. The CNN team reported the number of Israeli military vehicles inside the perimeter appears to be increasing, as the IDF appears to have expanded the ground operation once again.
A possible third entry point about 10 miles to the south, along the eastern perimeter, is pointed to in video evidence that surfaced on Monday. The video, filmed by freelance Palestinian journalist Yousif Al Saifi, showed an Israeli tank opening fire on a car on the main Salah Al Din road, which runs the length of the strip. The video was geolocated by CNN to just south of the Netzarim junction, named after a former Israeli settlement, and likely regarded by Israel as a strategic location to hold if it wants to divide northern Gaza from the south.
Hamas will free some foreign nationals they are holding hostage in the coming days, according to a spokesperson for the group's military wing.
"Some countries have intervened through mediators to free some foreign nationals' detainees in Gaza," Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, said in a video clip on Tuesday. "We received the requests of these countries," he said, without naming the nations. "Therefore, we informed the mediators that we will release a number of foreigners in the coming days."
Obeida did not give further details on the nationalities and numbers of hostages Hamas claimed it will free.
Addressing the Israel Defense Forces' announcement that it rescued an Israeli solider from Hamas captivity on Monday, Obeida said none of the hostages Hamas is holding have been rescued and suggested the solider may have been held by another group.
A United Nations human rights official is leaving his job over what he calls a "genocide" in Gaza that the UN has failed to stop.
Craig Mokhiber, director of the UN's New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a letter that Gaza is a textbook case of genocide.
Mokhiber, who said he lived in Gaza working on human rights for the UN in the 1990s, accused the United States, the United Kingdom and European countries of giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s alleged atrocities.
In the letter, which began with a statement acknowledging it would be his last official communication in his position, Mokhiber wrote that after witnessing what happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, and to Rohingya civilians in Myanmar, the UN has repeatedly failed to stop genocide.
“High Commissioner, we are failing again,” he said in the letter sent to the UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk in Geneva.
The UN Secretary-General press secretary said Mokhiber is retiring as of Tuesday.
CNN has reached out to Mokhiber for comment
CNN's Tara John contributed reporting to this post.
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of a strike in Jabalya Refugee Camp in Gaza on October 31. Anas al-Shareef/Reuters
An eyewitness to the Israel Defense Forces strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza told CNN he saw an F-16 aircraft fire several missiles at the camp.
“I was waiting in line to buy bread when suddenly and without any prior warning, seven to eight missiles fell from an F-16 on al-Yafawiya neighbourhood in the refugee camp,” Mohammad Ibrahim told CNN.
“There were seven to eight huge holes in the ground, full of killed people, body parts all over the place,” he said. “It felt like the end of the world.”
Photos from the site of the strike showed multiple deep craters, surrounded by destroyed or damaged buildings. Video also showed people searching through the rubble for survivors.
Dr. Atef al-Kalhout, the head of the nearby Indonesian hospital, where large numbers of the dead and wounded have flooded in, estimated that scores had been killed in the strike. The hospital is the nearest major medical facility to Jabalya and is one of the most damaged in Gaza due to multiple strikes in the vicinity.
Videos from the hospital showed a long line of bodies lying on the floor as well as large numbers of wounded people, including children, as doctors rushed to treat their injuries. Many of the injured are seen treated on the floor because of the hospital’s overcrowded conditions.
