Hamas agency claims 25 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza; no comment from IDF

Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency claims Israeli airstrikes hit multiple encampments for displaced Palestinians across the territory, allegedly killing at least 25 people.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal says an overnight strike targeted several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Younis, resulting in 16 deaths.

“At least 16 martyrs, most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded following a direct strike by two Israeli missiles on several tents housing displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis,” Bassal tells AFP.

Fire burns from displacement tents in Gaza’s Khan Younis following Israeli airstrikes. Palestinian health authorities say the strike has killed at least 10 people.#Israel #Gaza #Palestine

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— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 17, 2025

According to Bassal, two additional strikes on other encampments of displaced people have killed nine and wounded several more. Seven were killed in a strike on tents in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, while another attack near the Al-Mawasi area killed a father and his child who were living in a tent, Bassal says.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF. The military has previously said it aims only at terror targets and seeks to minimize civilian fatalities, stressing that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields and fights from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.