Attacks on Jabalia Refugee Camp (2023–present)

Jabalia refugee camp, a densely populated area in northeast Gaza City registered by UNRWA as home to more than 116,000 Palestinian refugees, has been repeatedly struck by Israeli airstrikes since 9 October 2023, as part of the wider Gaza war. The Israeli military has said the camp served as a stronghold for Hamas and other militant groups, citing underground tunnel networks and militant infrastructure beneath it.

The first major strike, on 9 October 2023, hit the crowded al-Trans area of the Jabalia market without advance warning; a rescue worker told the New York Times more than sixty people were killed, while a later UN investigation verified at least 42 dead, including 14 children. Amnesty International's investigation into the strike found no evidence of a substantiated military objective and concluded it was a likely war crime. Subsequent strikes on 12, 19, 20, and 22 October killed dozens more, including an attack on a residential building that Gaza's Interior Ministry said killed 45 people.

The 31 October 2023 strike, which the IDF said targeted Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari and a tunnel complex beneath the camp, was described by witnesses and officials as producing "apocalyptic" destruction, with more than 50 houses reportedly destroyed and preliminary estimates of about 400 dead or wounded. It drew international condemnation, including from UN Special Rapporteurs who called it a "brazen violation of international law," and prompted Bolivia to sever diplomatic relations with Israel and Colombia and Chile to recall their ambassadors. A second strike less than a day later, on 1 November, was described by Gaza's Civil Defense as a "second massacre," killing at least 80 people.

Strikes continued through November and December 2023 on markets, homes, and UNRWA-run schools sheltering displaced families, including the Abu Hussein school (2 and 23 November) and the Al-Fakhoura school (4 November), the latter reportedly killing fifteen. Attacks continued on a near-weekly basis through 2024 and into 2025–2026, hitting residential blocks, mosques, medical clinics, and displacement shelters. On 31 May 2024, after more than two weeks of fighting and over 200 airstrikes, the IDF withdrew from Jabalia; Palestinian officials estimated 70% of the camp had been destroyed, while the Israeli military said it had destroyed more than 10 kilometers of tunnels, weapons production sites, and rocket launchers, and recovered the bodies of seven Israeli hostages.

A further Israeli military operation, described as a siege, began on 6 October 2024, reportedly killing more than 150 people in its first week.