A recent Israeli airstrike hit tents of displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip, near Rafah, causing a terrible death toll and many injuries. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the attack killed at least 45 people, with many others injured. The incident took place in a spontaneous camp outside a school in Abasan, a town where Palestinians had taken refuge from the ongoing conflict.

Conforming to the vent of the Israeli military, the airstrikes were being done against Hamas militants who operated in that area, and the tents were used for covering rocket launchers and other military equipment in that military space. According to military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, what Hamas did was take those same launchers and place them next to civilian areas to prevent the Israelis from attacking. Indeed, the military says it does its best not to harm civilians; however, these tactics by Hamas complicate things for them.

The Palestinian Red Crescent and other humanitarian organizations have condemned the strike, saying it has had a disproportionate effect on civilians, many of whom were already displaced and vulnerable. Each of these tents was housing families that had escaped conflict and were in search of safety and a roof overhead. The global community turned furious over the attack, and many demands have been made to provide more protection for civilians in conflict areas.

This stands against the broader backdrop of prolonged confrontation between the Israeli military and Hamas guerrillas. The Israeli military has been conducting operations in Gaza against what it calls militant infrastructure, and the latter has continued to fire rockets into Israeli territory. This pattern of violence has come at a jarringly high cost of lives on both sides—with the heaviest toll being civilian lives.

Humanitarian agencies have urged a stop to the hostilities and called on renewed efforts to get relief to those displaced by the fighting. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies have requested the parties in the conflict to allow access to humanitarian assistance without obstruction and respect medical personnel and installations.

The total level of human calamity in Gaza spirals due to continued attacks, rocket fire, and a mounting humanitarian crisis. Displacement populations face hard times, such as after the latest strike, due to a lack of access to basic needs like food, water, and health care. The world at large keeps vigil over this development as calls go for measures that ensure civilians are protected and address the root causes of this conflict.

This is the bottom line of the Israeli airstrike against tents housing displaced Palestinians in the vicinity of Rafah, which has sadly caused loss of life and further highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The incident mirrors the general high-level problems related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, whereby civilian populations become very vulnerable to hostile gunfire in continuous conflicts. In such disputes, protecting civilians and humanitarian assistance becomes very critical.