Videos show a densely populated area of Gaza decimated by the Israeli airstrike.
A Times analysis of satellite images and social media videos shows that an airstrike that Israel said targeted a senior Hamas leader on Tuesday destroyed a densely populated area in the Jabaliya neighborhood, home to the largest refugee camp in Gaza.
The medical director of a nearby hospital reported hundreds of injuries and dozens of deaths. The extent of the destruction raises questions about whether the civilian toll is proportionate to the Israeli army’s military objectives.
Videos and images of the aftermath of the strike, verified by The Times, show civilians, including children, being pulled from the rubble and taken away. Some seem lifeless. “There are dead bodies everywhere,” said Mahmoud Abusalama, a local photographer at the scene to post on his Instagram channel. “Everyone is looking for their family.”
A livestream on Facebook showed victims of the attack being treated at a nearby hospital. “We have to choose who we treat, because we can’t treat everyone,” says a doctor.
The Israeli military said the attack killed “a large number of terrorists,” including a senior Hamas commander it identified as Ibrahim Biari, and said he had helped plan the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel. A Hamas spokesman denied that a commander had been in the target area.
The Times’ estimate of the damage shows that several large buildings were razed. There were from 2023 onwards more than 116,000 people registered in the refugee campwhich covers an area of only 1.4 square kilometers.
The Jabaliya camp is located in northern Gaza, an area for which the Israeli army has issued evacuation orders. “Issuing warnings does not absolve parties of the obligation to protect civilians,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “Citizens who do not evacuate,” he added, still need to be protected.
Marc Garlasco, a military adviser to PAX Protection of Civilians, a Dutch program affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, told The Times that the craters at the site were consistent with damage caused by Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, used by the Israeli army. These ammunition kits turn unguided bombs into precise, GPS-guided weapons.
Experts say Israel’s bombardment of densely populated areas raises concerns under international humanitarian law. “International law prohibits attacks where the expected damage to civilians and civilian property is disproportionate to the expected military gain,” Mr. Shakir said.
Ainara Tiefenthaler video editing contributed. Abeer Pamuk contributed a translation.