At least fifty people killed after explosion at refugee camp in Gaza

Israel announced it was expanding ground operations in Gaza

MULTIPLE deaths and injuries have been reported at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza after an explosion.

The Hamas-run health ministry, and the director of the nearby Indonesian hospital, say at least 50 people have been killed.

The ministry said the blast was caused by an Israeli air strike, with the Israeli military yet to comment.

This comes as Israel announced it was expanding ground operations in Gaza, with the BBC reporting that tanks and armoured vehicles are moving towards Gaza City, where Hamas is based.

Jabalia lies in northern Gaza, an area where Israel has told people to leave for their safety.

It is the largest of Gaza’s eight refugee camps, with more than 116,000 Palestinian refugees registered there by the UN as of July 2023.

Jabalia has 26 schools in 16 school buildings, a food distribution centre, two health centres, a library and seven water wells.

Journalists working for French news agency AFP is on the scene at Jabalia and said video footage from the scene shows at least 47 bodies recovered from the rubble.

Images emerging from the camp show large areas of the camp levelled and bodies being carried away.

The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 8500 people have been killed since Israel started bombing Gaza, following an attack from Hamas on October 7 which killed 1400 people.