July 2024 al-Shati refugee camp attack

The al-Shati camp was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.^[5][6] As of 2023, it was one of the most densely populated places in the world with a population of over 90,000 refugees in an area of only 0.52 km².^[5]

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted two separate airstrikes on the refugee camp at the beginning of the Gaza war on 9 and 12 October, destroying four mosques and killing at least 15 civilians.^[7] Houses in the al-Shati camp were again targeted by Israeli forces on 22 June 2024, where an airstrike killed 24 people.^[8]

On 13 July 2024, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported that at least 22 people were killed by military shelling conducted in the al-Shati refugee camp, leaving several more victims in critical condition. The agency reported that many of the victims were gathered in a prayer room for noon prayer at the site of a destroyed mosque at the time of the attack. Eyewitnesses reported that the camp residents only gathered for noon prayer at the mosque, and not for evening Maghrib and Isha prayers in order to avoid being potentially targeted then.^[1][9][2]

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that they had recovered six bodies and three critically injured civilians shortly following the attack. At least ten deceased and twenty injured victims were taken to the nearby al-Ahli Arab Hospital.^[1]