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An explosion overnight in a densely populated area of the central Gaza Strip destroyed several buildings and appeared to have killed and injured many people, photos and videos from the scene showed on Sunday.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike had hit Al Maghazi, a community built from a refugee camp established decades ago, killing at least 47 people and wounding dozens more. He warned that the death toll was expected to rise and said many bodies were still buried under the rubble.
The victims were taken to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where a New York Times photographer saw the wounded crowded in the hallways and the dead being prepared for burial.
An Israeli military spokesman said it was investigating reports of the attack.
Last week, Israel attacked an area near Gaza City, Jabaliya, which also originated as a refugee camp. Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, and local doctors said hundreds of people had been injured or killed. Israel said the strike had killed a Hamas leader and other operatives and hit a network of Hamas tunnels that it said were beneath residential buildings. Reports of many deaths and the level of destruction sparked international outrage.
Al Maghazi, created in 1949, is one of eight camps established to house Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the wars surrounding the creation of Israel. In general, the camps have been built over time and have become highly populated neighborhoods.
Al Maghazi is one of the smallest camps, according to UNRWA, the UN agency that helps Palestinians and manages the camps. The agency said the area was known for its “narrow alleys and high population density,” with 33,255 people living in 0.6 square kilometers or 0.2 square miles.
On Sunday, Mohammed al-Aloul, a photographer for Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state news service, said he was working when news and videos from Al Maghazi, his neighborhood, began flooding his phone.
As she checked them, her greatest fear came true: four of her five children (Qais, Ahmad, Rahaf and Kenaan) were among the lifeless bodies being pulled out from under the rubble.
A few hours later, Mr. al-Aloul was leading the funeral prayer near the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, still dressed in his blue vest as he looked at the small shrouded bodies of the children. Behind him, more than a dozen men prayed, some of whom had also lost their children.
Inside the hospital were the only surviving family members: his youngest son, Adam, 1 year old, and his wife, Amnah, who was in critical condition. Al-Aloul said he also lost several other family members in the strike.
Amnah suffered severe burns to her face, broken bones and shrapnel wounds. When a New York Times photographer visited her in the hospital, she was sharing a single bed with her sister-in-law, who was also in serious condition.
The hospital, like most hospitals in Gaza, was overcrowded, so many of the wounded had to be treated in the corridors. Al-Aloul’s son Adam was among them, his face covered in shrapnel cuts.