Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes (2023–2024)

From 9 October 2023, as part of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted airstrikes in Jabalia refugee camp, claiming it was a stronghold for Hamas and other militant groups.

In Jabalia camp, a densely populated region of Gaza, over sixty people were killed in airstrikes on 31 October, and much of the market was destroyed. Forty-five people were killed in an airstrike on the next day, and part of a residential complex was destroyed.

On 31 May 2024, the IDF withdrew from Jabalia. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed Palestinian rocket launchers and over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels, as well as recovered the bodies of seven Israeli hostages.

Background
The Jabalia refugee camp market is considered one of the most lively areas in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the northeast of Gaza City. There is a residential area in the market, the Al-Ternis area, which is considered part of the market, the largest commercial market in Gaza. UNRWA registered 116,011 Palestinian refugees in the camp.

9 October
Following Israeli airstrikes on other areas of Gaza, internally displaced Gazans fled to the Jabaliya camp. At the time of the attack, between 10.30 and 11.30, the market was completely full, with customers and vendors stocking up on goods. No advance warning was given for the airstrike which 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 people killed, 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. A later United Nations investigation verified at least 42 killed, including 14 children, not counting a further 18 casualties. 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.

12 October
On 12 October, a second airstrike on the Jabalia camp hit a residential building was hit, 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.

19 October
On 19 October, the camp was hit by a third airstrike, killing 18 refugees.

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 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".

2 November
On 2 November, another airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp hit the UNRWA-sponsored Abu Hussein school, home to many displaced Gazans.

4 November
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."

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.

14 November
Israeli airstrikes killed two volleyball players Hassan Zuaiter and Ibrahim Qusaya at the refugee camp.

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.

23 November
On 23 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike bombed the Abu Hussein School in Jabalia camp, which was being used by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) as a shelter. At least 27 people were killed in the attack, with multiple injuries reported. The Israeli missile fell on Abu Hussein School in the morning when thousands of people were sheltering inside of it. The attack led to the death of at least 27 people and injuries. Among the dead were also children. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that about 100 other people were injured in the attack.

2 December
Residential blocks were bombed, killing a number of people and burying many others in rubble. One resident told Al Jazeera, "We can hear voices from under the debris." The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack, stating there were more than 100 civilian casualties.

5 December
On 5 December, the IDF stated they had the entire Jabalia camp surrounded.

6 December
On 6 December, airstrikes on the camp reportedly intensified. A resident stated, "We cannot recover the wounded or even bury our dead. The world has abandoned us. This is hell."

8 December
Dozens were killed in an airstrike on the northern Jabalia refugee camp.

15 December
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes in the camp killed at least 90 people.

19 December
An attack on the camp killed at least 13 people. A reporter on the scene stated, "Victims are just lying on the ground. Many have been killed, bodies ripped apart. Even animals aren’t spared. The scale of the destruction is massive because this area was purposely bombed by Israeli fighter jets. Bodies are everywhere. This is beyond description."

20 December
46 people were killed in an Israeli attack.

22 December
16 members of one family were killed in an airstrike. A total of 30 people were killed.

23 December
Dozens were killed in a bombing with rescuers unable to reach the wounded. The attack was described as a carpet bombing.

25 December
Small businesses across Jabalia were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

26 December
Massive destruction was reported after Israeli strikes near the Saad bin Abi Waqqas Mosque.

1 January
Six people were killed in an air raid.

5 January
50 homes were destroyed in the al-Sikka area of Jabalia.

20 January
Multiple people were killed after a house was destroyed in a bombing.

23 January
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported three were killed and ten wounded in an airstrike.

24 January
At least a dozen people were reported killed in an airstrike on a multistory family home.

6 February
10 people were reported killed and 10 injured on a strike on a family home.

7 February
20 people were reported killed and 20 injured in an airstrike on a home.

13 February
At least seven were killed in Israeli drone strikes on 13 February while trying to access internet.

15 February
Two people were killed and multiple people injured in an airstrike on two family homes.

22 February
The IDF bombed an UNRWA building sheltering displaced people, with a survivor stating, "An Israeli reconnaissance plane bombed the car, and we found martyrs and wounded in the street".

5 March
An airstrike on a residential block killed at least eight people.

19 March
At least eight people, including children, were killed by Israeli shelling.

26 March
Al Jazeera reported that Israel had bombed a house, killing and wounding those inside.

16 April
One person was killed and eleven wounded after an Israeli warplane reportedly bombed a mosque in the Jabalia refugee camp.

12 May
On 12 May 2024, Israeli forces reportedly attacked the refugee camp again. Footage allegedly showed Israel dropping bombs on the camp, and using tanks to enter it.

16 May
There was a "clear surge" in bombings on the camp, including drone strikes on a kindergarten and on medics. A resident stated, "Tanks and planes are wiping out residential districts and markets, shops, restaurants, everything. It is all happening before the one-eyed world". The Gaza civil defense stated they collected 93 bodies from Jabalia's streets and alleys.

18 May
Artillery, drone strikes and missile attacks reportedly killed five people.

19 May
Al Jazeera reported Israeli warplanes had bombed the al-Qasaib neighborhood, with an unknown number of casualties.

21 May
A camp resident described recent Israeli bombardments, stating, "We came out running and found dismembered heads on the streets".

26 May
Verified video from the aftermath of an airstrike showed people digging through rubble looking for survivors.

31 May
On 31 May 2024, the IDF withdrew from Jabalia after over two weeks of intense fighting and more than 200 airstrikes. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels that it says the militants used. The Israeli military also said that it had destroyed a number of weapons production sites and rocket launchers. During the weeks-long operation, troops recovered the bodies of seven Israeli hostages.

8 July
Ten people, including children, were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a home.

Reactions
In May 2024, residents of Jabalia who returned to the camp described the destruction as "horrifying". One resident stated, "The devastation is colossal. The destruction is massive, beyond description. No words can describe the scale of the damage. The entire area is unlivable".

31 October attack
Norwegian doctor and pro-Palestinian activist Mads Gilbert stated, "There is absolutely no doubt that this is a mass murder." Melanie Ward, the chief executive of the UK-nonprofit Medical Aid for Palestinians, stated, "This attack marks a new low and should serve as a wake-up call to world leaders and politicians everywhere. Their meek requests for compliance with international law are being ignored entirely; Israel has instead increased the ferocity of its indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks." Doctors Without Borders condemned the airstrike, stating "Enough is enough!"

The attack was immediately condemned by the Egyptian, Saudi, Jordanian, and Qatari foreign ministries. Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel, and Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors. UN Special Rapporteurs stated the attacks were a "brazen violation of international law – and a war crime."