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Representative image · Photo: d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net

Israeli Airstrike Levels Buildings in Bureij Refugee Camp

An Israeli airstrike on Bureij refugee camp destroyed a residential block. Residents describe a sudden, tornado-like blast following a phone warning.

An Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday left a trail of devastation, with several buildings reduced to rubble. Footage from the scene showed residents sifting through debris, searching for salvageable belongings amid the wreckage of their homes.

One resident, Abdallah Abu Gharqoud, described the harrowing sequence of events. He said a neighbor received a phone call warning them to evacuate their house because the block was about to be bombed. The family gathered their children and belongings and moved downstairs, but barely made it to the street before the strike hit.

Gharqoud described the blast as feeling like "something unnatural," a force akin to a tornado that instantly demolished the entire block. The aftermath showed residents carefully navigating the ruins, with some seen carrying a cage of pigeons from the destruction, a small but poignant sign of lives interrupted.

Local residents reported receiving similar evacuation warnings in several other areas across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. These warnings were followed by strikes in Khan Younis, the Bureij camp, and Gaza City, including a location near Shifa Hospital.