At least 13 killed, including 7 children, after strike on Gaza’s Al-Maghazi refugee camp

CNN

By Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman and Zeena Saifi, CNN

(CNN) — At least 13 people were killed, including seven children, and more than 25 injured after a strike targeted Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital officials.

Graphic video, obtained exclusively by CNN from eyewitness Nihad Owdetallah, shows several casualties scattered on the floor, including children, with blood streaming around the area.

Dozens of people appear to be running around in panic, screaming and trying to count and carry the dead bodies. A foosball table covered in dust is seen among the dead bodies.

Owdetallah, who lives in the camp, told CNN he heard an explosion at around 3:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday around 30 to 40 meters away from him.

“I immediately walked to see what happened and found dead bodies thrown on the ground. People screaming, kids screaming. Kids dead on the ground. They were just playing foosball, and they were martyred,” he said.

Footage shot for CNN from inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shows a continuous flow of casualties and injured people being ushered in, as the emergency room is crowded with patients, including several wounded children, crying out on the floor. Family members are seen crowding over their loved one’s dead bodies, kissing them, holding onto them and sobbing.

Video from inside a morgue at the hospital shows families trying to identify their loved ones among the deceased. Fatmeh Issa points to a white body bag with a young boy’s bloodied face exposed, telling CNN, “This is my son.”

Another man cries out, “They have nothing to do with anyone! They are civilians. Have mercy on us. You are killing children. You are not killing an army or fighters; you are killing children who were peacefully playing in the street.”

Video shows him handing a young girl’s dead body to another man, both men crying out Quranic verses and sobbing. The man who receives her body is seen placing her on the ground, and covers her body with a jacket, telling CNN she is his daughter.

“This is my oldest daughter…her name is Lujain, she is nine years old. A strike hit them while they were playing out in the street. They are all just children,” he adds.

Video from outside the hospital yard shows people looking distressed, especially women pushing to get inside the hospital, crying out for their loved ones. Dozens of people are seen gathering in the yard saying prayers for the deceased before they are taken for burial.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment but has not yet received a response.

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