At least 40 Palestinians were killed and 60 others were injured today after Israeli aircraft bombed a supposedly safe area in the southern Gaza Strip.

We are facing one of the most horrific massacres since the beginning of the Israeli aggression against the territory 11 months ago, there are entire families who disappeared under the sand because of the missiles, denounced the Civil Defence.

According to the official Wafa news agency, the incident occurred at the stroke of midnight near the British hospital at the entrance to the area known as Al-Mawasi, in the south of the coastal enclave.

Medical officials warned that the death toll will rise in the coming hours as recovery work progresses.

Wafa, citing local sources, reported that at least five missiles hit the area, destroying numerous tents used by the refugees and causing holes up to nine metres deep.

«The area is in a state of chaos, with a heavy presence of Israeli reconnaissance planes flying overhead, amid a total power cut and fires caused by the shelling,» he said.

For its part, the Palestine Red Crescent Society warned that its rescue teams face major challenges in recovering the bodies of the dead and reaching the wounded because of the massive destruction and deep craters.

The Israeli army justified the attack on an area full of displaced people on the grounds that it was allegedly aimed at members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The IDF has repeatedly attacked Al-Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltered in just a few square kilometres.

On 13 July last, nearly 400 citizens were killed or injured in a similar raid on the territory.

The IDF claimed at the time that the bombing was aimed at eliminating Mohammed Deif, head of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and other commanders such as Rafa Salama, the group’s commander in the Khan Younis governorate.