Al-Mawasi massacre: 'Entire families disappeared in the sand'

Palestinians have been desperately digging for their loved ones in the deep craters left by an Israeli air strike on a so-called humanitarian zone, where "entire families have disappeared in the sand", the civil defence said.

Um Mahmoud, a displaced Palestinian in al-Mawasi, described seeing women and children "torn to shreds" after the strikes.

"We have been here for nine months, we have not seen a single resistance member entering the area," Um Mahmoud told Middle East Eye.

Alaa al-Shaer, who has been staying in the displacement camp with his family, said he had a message to Israelis "conducting a genocide against us".

"I have my sister, my sons, my daughters. Would I logically put between them someone wanted by the Israelis? This does not make sense."

"The Israelis said, 'go to the safe areas' and that is what people did," he added.

As the sun rose, more people headed to the area to try to support rescue efforts. Others were looking through the remains of their tents, in apparent attempts to salvage anything from them.

Those trying to leave struggled to work their way through the giant craters left in the ground.

Tearfully standing outside Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital, a woman mourned her sister, who was killed in the attack.

"My sister was martyred, she was 35 years old," she told MEE. "Her husband disappeared when the Israelis took him six months ago."

The woman, who was just a street away from her sister's tent, says she is survived by six daughters and two sons.

"How can you see a girl get orphaned? No mother, no father, no grandparents, no one," she said.

Read more: Massive Israeli strike on 'humanitarian zone' tents kills at least 40