31 October 2023 Jabalia refugee camp airstrike

31 October 2023
Jabalia refugee camp airstrike
31 October 2023; Jabalia refugee camp airstrike
Part of the Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes of the Israel–Hamas war
	Palestinians at the Jabalia refugee camp, standing around a crater created by the airstrike
Type	Airstrike
Location	Jabalia refugee camp; 31°32′14″N 34°29′47″E
Date	31 October 2023
Executed by	Israeli Air Force
Casualties	Hundreds killed or injured (per Gaza Indonesian Hospital); 195+ killed, 777+ wounded (per Gaza Health Ministry)

The Jabalia refugee camp, which has been the target of multiple Israeli air strikes during the Israel–Hamas war, was struck again on 31 October, killing at least 50 Palestinians and trapping more than a hundred beneath the rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Indonesia Hospital said most casualties were women and children. Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed," with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp, and stated that the attack killed a Hamas commander who lead the 7 October attacks, dozens of Palestinian militants, and destroyed Palestinian tunnels. Hamas denied the presence of any commander and said Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.

Attack

The director for civil defense in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Israel dropped six US-made bombs in the area. Pictures of the aftermath showed several large craters amid destroyed buildings. The New York Times quoted an analyst who said the damage appeared consistent with Joint Direct Attack Munitions that Israel uses. Satellite imagery showed that an area of at least 2,500 square metres (27,000 sq ft) was "completely flattened" in the strikes, according to the NYT.

An eyewitness described seeing children transporting other injured children from a scene of "grey dust filling the air" and unidentified bodies, some bleeding and others burned; they also reported seeing mothers screaming, not knowing whether to cry out of being bereaved or to attempt to search for them. Atef Abu Seif, Minister of Culture of the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas and a well-known critic of Hamas, likewise spoke of "apocalyptic" scenes to Der Spiegel, saying more than 50 houses were destroyed, each of which contained "dozens of people" on account of "families and relatives" fleeing previous bombsites. Médecins Sans Frontières reported treating children with burns and deep wounds.

The New York Times and experts it consulted concluded that at least two 2,000-pound bombs were used. The bombs in question were BLU-109 bunker busters, supplied to the Israeli military by the United States. According to IDF officials, Israel targeted the space between buildings to destroy an underground tunnel complex and said that the collapse of the tunnel network caused the foundations of nearby buildings to collapse in turn causing the collapse of those buildings.

Casualties

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry initially reported 50 people were killed and 150 injured. The Indonesian Hospital nearby said it received 120 dead bodies and treated 280 wounded, and the majority were women and children. Agence France-Presse's footage showed 47 dead bodies being pulled out from the rubble. The New York Times also confirmed that footage showed that children, some dead, were pulled from the rubble. Later, the Gaza Health Ministry, updated the casualties to 195 dead.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said the attack killed seven civilian hostages, three of which held foreign passports.

The Gaza Health Ministry stated on 1 November that the strikes on both days killed 195 people and injured 777 others, with 120 more missing beneath the rubble.

Aftermath

Israeli justification

The IDF said the operation targeted and killed a Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, who they said led the 7 October attack on Israel. Hamas denied the presence of any commander and said Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.

IDF spokesman Richard Hecht described civilian deaths as a tragic consequence of war and accused Hamas of using them as human shields, noting that civilians had been warned to move south.

International law

On 2 November, the United Nations human rights office stated that the civilian death toll and scale of destruction meant the attack could constitute a war crime.

Omar Shakir, a Human Rights Watch director, said that warnings to evacuate an area did not exempt them from their duty to protect unevacuated civilians, and stated that attacks expected to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian properties were prohibited under international law.

International reactions

The attack was immediately condemned by the Egyptian, Saudi, Jordanian, and Qatari foreign ministries. Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel, and Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors.

Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al Shareef was on the scene and described it as a "massive massacre", while Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, described the scene as "absolutely horrific."

Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert described the attack as a "mass murder." Melanie Ward, chief executive of the UK nonprofit Medical Aid for Palestinians, used the attack to call out the perceived timidity of requests by world leaders and politicians for Israel to comply with international law and Doctors Without Borders condemned the airstrike.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva expressed his dismay at "witnessing a war in which the majority of the dead are children", and begged Israel to end the attacks, while Martin Griffiths, the humanitarian chief for the United Nations, described the scene as "the latest atrocity to befall the people of Gaza".

Professor Tamer Qarmout of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies denounced the "complicity and silence from the international community on these war crimes", and described Israel's actions as "insane", while UNICEF called the airstrike "horrific and appalling."

Countries

Argentina condemned the attack, with the Foreign Ministry regarding it as unjustifiable.
Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel.
Chile recalled its Israeli ambassador.
Colombia recalled its Israeli ambassador.
Egypt condemned the Israeli attack as an indiscriminate attack against civilians and a flagrant violation of international law.
Foreign Affairs minister Catherine Colonna stated France was deeply concerned about "the very heavy toll" on Palestinian civilians and expressed its compassion, and reminded Israel of its obligations under international law.
Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized Israel's right of self-defense and stated that Hamas was consciously using people in the camp as human shields.
Jordan recalled its Israeli ambassador and advised Israel that its own ambassador should not return to Jordan as long as the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza were ongoing.
The Qatari foreign ministry released a statement condemning the attack.
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law, and deplored the international community's failure to pressure Israel into a ceasefire.
The United Arab Emirates condemned the Israeli attack and called for an immediate ceasefire.
The United States, in the immediate aftermath, declined to comment on the attack.

Multi-national organizations

The Arab League deplored the bombing of the Jabaliya refugee camp and called for the immediate delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that he was "appalled by the high number of casualties".
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated he was "appalled" by the attack, while its Human Rights Office expressed "serious concerns" as to the attacks' disproportionality.