In the early hours of Tuesday 18 June, two separate Israeli airstrikes struck Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza. Initial reports indicate that ten people have been killed, including five members of one family. This latest Israeli strike comes only ten days after a raid on the same camp, presented as a rescue operation to free Israeli hostages, that killed at least 270 Palestinians and injured over 700.

The latest attacks on Nuseirat Refugee Camp follow a familiar pattern of Israeli attacks since 7 October on camps for displaced persons, many of whom were either forced from their homes by Zionist militias during the 1948 Nakba or are their descendants. Attacks on Nuseirat itself date back to 18 October, when the Grand Nuseirat Mosque was destroyed and thirty were killed. More recently, on 6 June, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) struck the UNRWA-run al-Sardi school in the camp, where many had sheltered for safety, killing thirty.

Elsewhere, Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in Gaza, has been completely destroyed after a three-week siege in May by Israel. Other camps, including the al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza and al-Mawasi tent camp in Rafah, which has been erected to house those displaced from other parts of Gaza, have been regularly targeted.

Israel’s systemic attacks on refugee camps is part of the Israeli genocide tactic. This has resulted in the killing of at least 37,347 people since 8 October. With at least 75% of Gaza’s population now internally displaced, Israel cannot be allowed to continue its attacks with impunity. Friends of Al-Aqsa condemn this latest attack and call on the UK government and all stakeholders to apply all forms of pressure: economic, military and diplomatic, to compel Israel to comply with its humanitarian obligations and responsibilities under international law. We once again affirm our demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and secure the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.