In the Gaza war, as part of the bombing and invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Gaza Strip
Al-Mawasi
On 4 December 2024, the Israeli Air Force executed two sequential strikes on al-Mawasi beginning prior to 19:20 PSST. The attacks ignited numerous makeshift tents housing displaced civilians, prompting immediate responses from Palestinian Civil Defence crews who attempted to control the fires while conducting rescue operations. Many displaced civilians were still in their tents when the resulting fire began to spread.
The death toll progressively increased throughout the afternoon. Initial reports indicated 20 fatalities, with Civil Defense spokespersons confirming that children were among the victims. The attacks also resulted in dozens of injuries, with medical teams being overwhelmed in treating severely wounded survivors due to limited medical resources and insufficient staff. As a result, many initial survivors died due to severe burns or from severe injuries caused by the explosions.
The attacks caused severe damage to a wide array of refugee shelters and accommodations, with many being completely destroyed.
Jabaliya
9–22 October
Following Israeli airstrikes on other areas of Gaza, internally displaced Gazans fled to the Jabaliya camp. At the time of the attack, the market was full, with customers and vendors stocking up on goods. The airstrike hit the al-Trans area of the Jabalia market, one of the most populated areas of Jabaliya. Survivors of the attack, speaking to France 24, stated that the airstrike "hit in the heart of the market", and in the immediate aftermath, there were many dead. Many of the bodies were unable to be recovered in the days following the airstrike, due to a lack of equipment.
A rescue worker speaking to the New York Times stated that the death toll was over sixty, and the entire market and surrounding buildings were destroyed. Gaza's health ministry declined to give a full estimate, but reported "dozens" of dead and wounded. Gaza's interior ministry also claimed that the airstrike initially targeted a residential building belonging to the Abu Eshkayyah family.
The Israeli government claimed that the Jabalia airstrike targeted elements of Hamas located in a mosque in the Jabalia camp. Amnesty International investigated the airstrike in its report on the Gaza genocide. The report said there was no evidence of a military objective and that the "Israeli military made contradictory remarks and failed to substantiate them." The Amnesty report concluded the strike was a likely war crime.
On 12 October, a second airstrike on the Jabalia camp hit a residential building, destroying several apartments, and killing people from two families. Gaza's Interior Ministry reported 45 people were killed, and at least four others injured. Some were sheltering there after being displaced from Beit Hanoun.
On 19 October, the camp was hit by a third airstrike, killing 18 refugees. On 22 October, the camp was bombed for a fourth time during a particularly intense bombardment of Gaza. Multiple homes were bombed and at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
31 October
On 31 October, the camp was bombed again by Israeli fighter jets. The IDF said the attack was meant to target a key leader of the 7 October attacks Ibrahim Biari, as well as a "vast underground tunnel complex" beneath the camp that according to the IDF Biari was commanding operations from. Hamas denied the presence of any commander and said Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.
An eyewitness interviewed by CNN spoke of "apocalyptic scenes":
"Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognized. Some were bleeding and others were burnt. ... I saw women screaming and confused. They didn't know whether to cry for losing their children or run and look for them, especially since many children were playing in the neighborhood."
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 "smashed, crushed. In each house there were dozens of people, families and relatives who had fled here from outside because their areas were bombed ... They bombed the center, the heart of the refugee camp. No place in all of Palestine is probably as densely populated as this. Now we can't even make out where which building began and ended."
Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al Shareef was on the scene, stating, "It's a massive massacre. It is hard to count the number of buildings that have been destroyed here." Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, described the scene as "absolutely horrific". More than a hundred people were reported missing beneath the rubble. The Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed", with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead. The director of the Indonesia Hospital reported more than 50 dead.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp. IDF spokesman Richard Hecht described civilian deaths as a tragic consequence of war and accused Hamas of using the local population as human shields, noting that civilians had been warned to move south.
1–2 November
Less than a day after the 31 October airstrike which killed at least 50 people, Jabalia was bombed again. The Civil Defense in Gaza described the airstrike as a "second massacre" which destroyed several buildings surrounding the camp and killed at least 80 people and wounded hundreds more. The IDF said the strike killed "the head of [Hamas's] anti-tank missile unit, Muhammad A'sar".
On 2 November, another airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp hit the UNRWA-sponsored Abu Hussein school, home to many displaced Gazans.
Al-Fakhoora school
On 4 November, a UNRWA spokeswoman confirmed reports that Israel had conducted another airstrike against a UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to the Gaza health ministry, the attack on the Al-Fakhoura school killed fifteen and wounded dozens more. Reuters reported having obtained a video of a boy crying in despair: "I was standing here when three bombings happened, I carried a body and another decapitated body with my own hands. God will take my vengeance." According to UNRWA, at least one strike hit the schoolyard where displaced families had set up their tents. In response to the strike, Al Jazeera remarked Israel was "trying to eliminate all sources of survival for the civilian population to force the evacuation to the southern part of Gaza."
A second airstrike on the school occurred in the early hours of the morning on 18 November. Journalists on the scene reported dead bodies everywhere, suggesting the strike may have been an Israeli message to civilians to flee to the southern Gaza Strip. The second strike killed at least 50 people. A video clip surfacing following what has been described as a "massacre" depicts a man walking through several rooms where dozens of corpses can be seen, and distress can be heard throughout the school.
13–23 November
On 13 November, Israel bombed the camp, destroying twelve houses and killing more than 30 people. The civil defence team reported being unable to rescue injured people from the rubble due to a lack of equipment. On 14 November, Israeli airstrikes killed volleyball players Hassan Zuaiter and Ibrahim Qusaya at the camp. On 17 November, Israel hit several residential buildings, killing and wounding an unknown number. Residents and rescue workers reportedly used axes, hammers, and their bare hands to try to find survivors. On 23 November, an Israeli airstrike on the Abu Hussein School killed at least 27 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
December
On 5 December, the IDF stated they had the entire Jabalia camp surrounded. On 6 December, airstrikes on the camp reportedly intensified.
Al-Shati
2023
On 9 October 2023, during the Gaza war, the Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, destroying four mosques. According to Palestinian media, the attack killed people inside. The camp is Gaza's third-largest refugee camp, with a population of more than 90,000 refugees. A second strike was conducted on 12 October, killing 13 people.
The al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque were totally destroyed according to satellite footage, with local news reporting an unspecified number of people killed inside. The Palestinian Ministry of Health described the situation as "a massacre".
2024
Ten people were killed in an airstrike on 29 January. Two people were killed and four wounded in an airstrike on 24 February. By 6 March 2024, aerial footage showed that the Shati camp, which had been one of the world's most densely populated areas before the war, was in complete ruins. Several casualties were reported following an Israeli bombing of the camp on 22 March. Wafa reported at least four people were killed by an Israeli attack on 18 April. The government media office stated 24 were killed by an air raid on 22 June 2024. An Israeli drone strike killed five children on 13 October 2024, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. On 19 October 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 73 people at the Asmaa School, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. On 7 November, an Israeli airstrike targeted a school for displaced people, killing 12 people. On 16 November, 10 people were killed and at least 20 others were injured by an Israeli strike on a UN-run school. On 16 December, five Palestinian civilians were killed and 15 others were injured by an Israeli airstrike. On 20 December, another Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people.
2025
On 15 January 2025, three Palestinians were killed by an Israeli airstrike. On 1 April, three Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured by an Israeli airstrike.
On 19 June, an Israeli drone attacked a makeshift tent at the camp, killing at least 13 Palestinians. On 9 July, ten people, including two children, were killed and at least 30 others were injured when Israeli forces attacked the Jouda family home in west of the refugee camp. On 12 July, at 11 people were killed and more than 40 others were injured by Israeli attacks in Al-Balakhia, west of the refugee camp. On 15 July, nine people including five children were killed while 25 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike. On 22 July, Israeli forces targeted tents in the refugee camp, killing 16 people and injuring more than 25 others. On 7 August, three people were killed after Israeli forces targeted a residential apartment. On 6 September, six people were killed in an Israeli attack on a house in the camp. On 27 September, four people were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
Al-Bureij
October – December 2023
An airstrike by Israeli forces on the Al-Bureij refugee camp on 17 October 2023 killed at least 12 people and injured dozens.
On 2 November 2023, a residential building in the camp was bombed, killing 15 people. On 5 November 2023, residential structures in the camp were bombed again, killing at least 20 people.
A drone bombing killed two people on 22 December. Four were killed in a 23 December bombing.
January – May 2024
Attacks reported intensified on 5 January 2024. A bombing on 1 March killed four people. An airstrike on 14 March killed nine people from a single family. At least two people were killed by an Israeli airstrike on 27 March, with the Palestinian Red Crescent stating it had recovered one body and three wounded people. Local media reported an Israeli strike killed four people on 31 May 2024.