At least 50 reported dead, but toll could be 120 or more
1 of 5 | Palestinians search for victims in the rubble after Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Oct. 31. Photo by Anas Jamal/ UPI | License Photo
World leaders on Wednesday condemned Israel’s strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip that left dozens of civilians dead the day prior.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security, called for international humanitarian law to be observed as Israel exercises its “right to defend itself” while also protecting all civilians. Advertisement
“I am appalled by the high number of casualties following the bombing by Israel of the Jabalya refugee camp,” he said.
Palestinian officials on Tuesday said that 52 people were killed in the strike, while local authorities said the bombing caused a massive explosion that destroyed more than a dozen residential buildings and at least 20 homes.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also said it “condemns and totally rejects the repeated targeting by the Israeli occupation forces of densely populated civilian areas” also saying it violated international humanitarian law. Advertisement
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns in the strongest terms possible the inhumane targeting by the Israeli occupation forces of the Jabalia refugee camp in the besieged Gaza Strip, which caused the death and injury of a large number of innocent civilians,” it said.
The United Arab Emirates said the strike “reaffirmed the need for an immediate cease-fire to prevent further loss of life stressing the importance of protecting civilians, according to international humanitarian law, international treaties and the need to ensure that they are not targeted during conflict.”
Jabalya is the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with 116,011 Palestinian refugees, registered there as of 2023, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.
It is located near Gaza City and was established in 1948 following the Arab-Israeli War and is the closest camp to the Erez border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
The UNRWA said it has 32 installations in the camp with 16 school buildings, one food distribution center, two health centers, two area relief and social services offices, a public library, seven water wells and a maintenance and sanitation office.
It added the area has been plagued by electricity cuts, high unemployment, contaminated water supply, “extremely high” population density and lack of availability of construction materials since before the war due to limitations on movement. Advertisement
Israel reported that Ebrahim Biari, the head of the Jabalya battalion of Hamas and one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 surprise attack that killed 1,400 Israelis was killed on Tuesday.
“Tonight we eliminated the murderous terrorist Ibrahim Biari,” said Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari, adding that the civilian casualties resulted from a “strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure” in a massive network of underground tunnels.
Hamas continues to deny that Biari and his lieutenants were in Jabalya at the time. Meanwhile, there was no immediate confirmation on the ground regarding the commander’s status, which came at the expense of several dozen innocent lives.
During a press briefing, Hagari only alluded to the reported civilian casualties, saying, “the Hamas terrorists continue to use the civilian population as protective armor. This is intentional and devastatingly barbaric.”
