Gazans burnt alive in tent camp after Israeli air strike

A man throws a bucketload of water onto a fiercely burning tent
Gazans throw buckets of water over a burning tent village after an Israeli air strike - Ramadan Abed/Reuters

Israeli fighter jets bombed a hospital, which they said was being used by Hamas, in central Gaza overnight, killing at least four people in a fire that ravaged a tented area sheltering displaced Palestinians.

Footage showed at least one person moving among the flames as bystanders and rescue workers screamed desperately and attempted to put out the blaze with hose pipes and buckets of water.

Children were shown among the wounded and a man sobbed as he carried a toddler with a bandaged head in his arms.

At least four people died in the strike on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, with the death toll expected to rise, according to the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas.

A man runs past the blaze
The tents had been erected in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyers Hospital in Deir al-Balah - Abdallah FS Alattar/Anadolu via Getty

At least 40 were wounded, 25 of whom were transferred to the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza with severe burns, authorities at the Al-Aqsa hospital said.

Secondary explosions were heard and filmed, but it was not clear if they were caused by fuel tanks or munitions.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had conducted a “precise strike” on a Hamas command and control centre embedded within a compound that previously served as the Al-Aqsa hospital.

“[The compound] was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel,” the military said.

It insisted that it had taken numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.

A column of smoke and flame rises high into the air over Gaza at night
The Gaza authorities, run by Hamas, said at least four died and 40 were wounded - Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty

The IDF labelled Hamas’s apparent use of the hospital as an example of the group’s “systematic” abuse of civilian infrastructure.

It vowed to continue to operate against Hamas in defence of Israeli citizens.

The hospital was reportedly struck as it received wounded Palestinains from an earlier Israeli artillery strike on a nearby school which had been sheltering displaced people.

At least 20 were killed in the attack on the al-Mufti school in Nuseirat and at least 50 wounded, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, which is run by Hamas.

The head of the UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) condemned the two attacks, labelling them “another night of horror”.

A crowd point at the burning tents
The Gazan authorities said the tents were housing displaced people - Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty

“Gaza is a never-ending hell. All of this must not become the new norm. Humanity must prevail,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general.

UNRWA has been embroiled in controversy after an internal review in August found “sufficient evidence” that several of its workers had taken part in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

Israel’s offensive in northern Gaza, which began with an encirclement of the Jabalia refugee camp, has now entered its second week.

Israel said it had killed at least 50 Hamas fighters during the action, while the Gaza health authorities, run by Hamas, put the death toll at 150 people or more.

The attack came after recent reports that the Israeli government may adopt a “surrender or starve” plan to besiege northern Gaza.

A mass of charred wreckage and ashes
The damage being inspected on Monday morning - Ramadan Abed/Reuters

Under the so-called “generals’ plan”, devised by retired military officers, Israel would give civilians one week to evacuate the northern third of the Gaza strip before cutting off aid supplies and considering those who remain to be legitimate combatants.

Israeli officials said Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister, had studied the plan but that no decision had been taken.

However, human rights groups in Israel said there were “alarming signs” that the country was beginning to implement the proposal.

The UN estimates 400,000 are trapped by the fighting in and around Jabalia.