Al-Mawasi is a narrow strip of coastline at the southernmost end of Gaza, close to the city of Khan Younis.

In October, just weeks after the beginning of the war in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) designated al-Mawasi a “humanitarian area” and told residents of Gaza to evacuate there to avoid being caught up in the offensive launched following Hamas’s attacks into southern Israel which killed 1,200, mostly civilians. The IDF promised “international humanitarian aid will be provided as needed”.

On other occasions throughout the conflict, the IDF has told communities in active combat zones to evacuate to Al-Mawasi.

There have however been a number of deadly attacks on the camp.

In January, a suspected Israeli airstrike hit a residential compound in al-Mawasi hosting medical teams and their families from the International Rescue Committee and Medical Aid for Palestinians, two NGOs working in Gaza.

In April, during a military operation, an Israeli tank reportedly fired on a house where staff from Médecins Sans Frontières and their families were sheltering, killing two and injuring six.

In June, the Hamas-run health ministry said 25 people had been killed and 50 injured after Israeli shelling “targeted the tents of the displaced in the al-Mawasi area”.

One airstrike on al-Mawasi in July may have killed Mohammed Deif, the most senior Hamas military commander in Gaza and one of the architects of the attacks into southern Israel that triggered the conflict, but also caused at least 92 deaths and wounded more than 300, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

A number of other attacks have been reported.

Gaza’s civil defence agency has said that that the strike on the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone killed 40 people and wounded 60 others.

Civil defence official Mohammed Al-Mughair told the AFP news agency that “40 martyrs and 60 injured were recovered and transferred” to nearby hospitals after the strike.

“Our crews are still working to recover 15 missing people as a result of targeting the tents of the displaced in Mawasi, Khan Younis,” Mughair added.

Civil defence sources said separately that the strike had left behind large craters.

“Entire families disappeared in the Mawasi Khan Younis massacre, under the sand, in deep holes,” said civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal.

Hamas has denied Israeli allegations that gunmen were present at the site targeted by Israeli strikes on Tuesday morning. In a statement, the group also rejected accusations it exploited civilian areas for military purposes.

This is a clear lie that aims to justify these ugly crimes. The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or using these places for military purposes.”

Earlier the Israeli military said it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control centre embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis.”

In a statement online, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said fighter jets attacked “terrorists of the terrorist organization Hamas who were operating in a command and control complex disguised in the humanitarian area in Khan Younis.”

Before the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.”

Residents and medics at the tent encampment in the Al-Mawasi area, which is designated as a humanitarian zone, have said it was struck by at least four missiles. The camp is crowded with displaced Palestinians who have fled from elsewhere in the enclave.

The Gaza civil emergency service said at least 20 tents caught on fire, and missiles caused craters as deep as nine meters.

Dozens of Palestinians have reportedly been killed, with many more wounded.

“Our teams are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area. It looks like a new Israeli massacre,” a Gaza civil emergency official said.

The Israeli military said it “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis.”

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider crisis in the Middle East.

Dozens of Palestinians were reported killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip early on Tuesday, as the Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas command centre.

Residents and medics said a tent encampment in the Al-Mawasi area, which is designated as a humanitarian zone, was struck by at least four missiles. The camp is crowded with displaced Palestinians who have fled from elsewhere in the enclave.

More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.

• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, has said that 25 people were killed in an Israeli airstrikes on Syria. Syrian state media had put the death toll at 16 with 40 people injured. Iran described the airstrikes as a “criminal” attack on Syria. The main target appeared to be a military research centre in Masyaf associated with Syria’s chemical and ballistic missiles programme but explosions were also heard in Damascus, Homs and Tartus.

• Benny Gantz, the centre-right National Unity party leader and former defence minister, has reportedly said that Israel should shift its focus toward Hezbollah and the Lebanese border. “The story of Hamas is old news,” Gantz was quoted as saying at a Middle East forum in Washington DC. He said that, instead, “the story of Iran and its proxies all around the area and what they are trying to do is the real issue”.

• The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said that ending the war in Gaza is a priority and asked countries to act on what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories.

• The Palestinian Authority has held a funeral procession for an American-Turkish activist who a witness says was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week during a demonstration against settlements in the occupied West Bank. Dozens of mourners – including several leading officials of the western-backed authority – attended the procession in Nablus for Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old from Seattle who also held Turkish citizenship.

• Australia is coordinating with the UK and other allies to “pressure” Israel to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and to stop the erosion of longstanding norms protecting aid workers. The Australian government has also explicitly backed the UK’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel, putting it at odds with the US, which is reported to have privately warned Britain against the move. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told Guardian Australia: “Australia is working with partners – including the UK – to put pressure to see a real change in the situation in Gaza.”