From 9 October 2023, as part of the Gaza war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted airstrikes in Jabalia refugee camp, saying it was a stronghold for Hamas and other militant groups.

In Jabalia camp, a densely populated region of Gaza, over sixty people were killed in airstrikes on 31 October, and much of the market was destroyed. Forty-five people were killed in an airstrike on the next day, and part of a residential complex was destroyed.

On 31 May 2024, the IDF withdrew from Jabalia. Palestinian officials said that 70% of the refugee camp was destroyed. The Israeli military said that it had destroyed Palestinian rocket launchers and over 10 kilometers of underground tunnels, as well as recovered the bodies of seven Israeli hostages.

Background The Jabalia refugee camp market is considered one of the most lively areas in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the northeast of Gaza City. There is a residential area in the market, the Al-Ternis area, which is considered part of the market, the largest commercial market in Gaza. UNRWA registered 116,011 Palestinian refugees in the camp.

October 2023 strikes 9 October

Following Israeli airstrikes on other areas of Gaza, internally displaced Gazans fled to the Jabaliya camp. At the time of the attack, between 10.30 and 11.30, the market was completely full, with customers and vendors stocking up on goods. No advance warning was given for the airstrike which hit the al-Trans area of the Jabalia market, one of the most populated areas of Jabaliya. Survivors of the attack, speaking to France 24, stated that the airstrike "hit in the heart of the market", and in the immediate aftermath, there were many dead. Many of the bodies were unable to be recovered in the days following the airstrike, due to a lack of equipment.

A rescue worker speaking to the New York Times stated that the death toll was over sixty people killed, and the entire market and surrounding buildings were destroyed. Gaza's health ministry declined to give a full estimate, but reported "dozens" of dead and wounded. A later United Nations investigation verified at least 42 killed, including 14 children, not counting a further 18 casualties. Thematic Report Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks during the conflict in Gaza (October – December 2023) Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 19 June 2024 p.6

The Israeli government claimed that the Jabalia airstrike targeted elements of Hamas located in a mosque in the Jabalia camp. Amnesty International investigated the airstrike in its report on the Gaza genocide. The report said there was no evidence of a military objective and that the "Israeli military made contradictory remarks and failed to substantiate them." The Amnesty report concluded the strike was a likely war crime.

12 October On 12 October, a second airstrike on the Jabalia camp hit a residential building. Gaza's Interior Ministry reported 45 people were killed, and at least four others injured. Some were sheltering there after being displaced from Beit Hanoun.

19 October On 19 October, the camp was hit by a third airstrike, killing 18 refugees.

20 October Israeli warplanes struck a house and the market of the refugee camp.

22 October The camp was bombed for a fourth time during a particularly intense bombardment of Gaza. Multiple homes were bombed and at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.

31 October

On 31 October, the camp was bombed again by Israeli fighter jets. The IDF said the attack was meant to target a key leader of the 7 October attacks Ibrahim Biari, as well as a "vast underground tunnel complex" beneath the camp that according to the IDF Biari was commanding operations from. Hamas denied the presence of any commander and said Israel was using these claims as an excuse for the attack.

An eyewitness interviewed by CNN spoke of "apocalyptic scenes":

Atef Abu Seif, Minister of Culture of the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas and a well-known critic of Hamas, likewise spoke of "apocalyptic" scenes to Der Spiegel, saying more than 50 houses were "smashed, crushed. In each house there were dozens of people, families and relatives who had fled here from outside because their areas were bombed ... They bombed the center, the heart of the refugee camp. No place in all of Palestine is probably as densely populated as this. Now we can't even make out where which building began and ended."

Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al Shareef was on the scene, stating, "It's a massive massacre. It is hard to count the number of buildings that have been destroyed here." Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, described the scene as "absolutely horrific." More than a hundred people were reported missing beneath the rubble. The Gaza Interior Ministry stated the camp had been "completely destroyed," with preliminary estimates of about 400 wounded or dead. The director of the Indonesia Hospital reported more than 50 dead.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israeli fighter jets attacked the refugee camp. IDF spokesman Richard Hecht described civilian deaths as a tragic consequence of war and accused Hamas of using the local population as human shields, noting that civilians had been warned to move south.

According to Airwars, the strike killed at least 126 people – 68 of them minors – in addition to Biari, and injured a further 280 people.

November strikes 1 November Less than a day after the 31 October airstrike which killed over 100 people, Jabalia was bombed again. The Civil Defense in Gaza described the airstrike as a "second massacre" which destroyed several buildings surrounding the camp and killed at least 80 people and wounded hundreds more. The IDF said the strike killed "the head of [Hamas's] anti-tank missile unit, Muhammad A'sar". Airwars lists at least 86 civilians – including at least 25 women and at least 30 children – killed and hundreds reported injured for this strike.

2 November On 2 November, another airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp hit the UNRWA-sponsored Abu Hussein school, home to many displaced Gazans.

4 November

On 4 November, a UNRWA spokeswoman confirmed reports that Israel had conducted another airstrike against a UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to the Gaza health ministry, the attack on the Al-Fakhoura school killed fifteen and wounded dozens more. Reuters reported having obtained a video of a boy crying in despair: "I was standing here when three bombings happened, I carried a body and another decapitated body with my own hands. God will take my vengeance." According to UNRWA, at least one strike hit the schoolyard, where displaced families had set up their tents. In response to the strike, Al Jazeera remarked Israel was "trying to eliminate all sources of survival for the civilian population to force the evacuation to the southern part of Gaza."

13 November Israel bombed the camp, destroying twelve houses and killing more than 30 people. The civil defence team reported being unable to rescue injured people from the rubble due to a lack of equipment.

14 November Israeli airstrikes killed two volleyball players Hassan Zuaiter and Ibrahim Qusaya at the refugee camp.Israeli bombings kill two Palestinian volleyball stars

17 November Israel targeted several buildings, including a UN-run school and a family home, killing at least 82 people, including 19 children. Residents and rescue workers reportedly used axes, hammers, and their bare hands to try to find survivors.

23 November On 23 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike bombed the Abu Hussein School in Jabalia camp, which was being used by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) as a shelter. At least 27 people were killed in the attack, with multiple injuries reported. The Israeli missile fell on Abu Hussein School in the morning when thousands of people were sheltering inside of it.

December strikes 2 December Residential blocks were bombed, killing a number of people and burying many others in rubble. One resident told Al Jazeera, "We can hear voices from under the debris." The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack, stating there were more than 100 civilian killed.

5 December On 5 December, the IDF stated they had the entire Jabalia camp surrounded.

6 December On 6 December, airstrikes on the camp reportedly intensified. A resident stated, "We cannot recover the wounded or even bury our dead. The world has abandoned us. This is hell."

8 December Dozens were killed in an airstrike on the northern Jabalia refugee camp.

15 December The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes in the camp killed at least 90 people.

19 December An attack on the camp killed at least 13 people. A reporter on the scene stated, "Victims are just lying on the ground. Many have been killed, bodies ripped apart. Even animals aren’t spared. The scale of the destruction is massive because this area was purposely bombed by Israeli fighter jets. Bodies are everywhere. This is beyond description."

20 December 46 people were killed in an Israeli attack.

22 December 16 members of one family were killed in an airstrike. A total of 30 people were killed.

23 December Dozens were killed in a bombing with rescuers unable to reach the wounded. The attack was described as a carpet bombing.

25 December Small businesses across Jabalia were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

26 December Massive destruction was reported after Israeli strikes near the Saad bin Abi Waqqas Mosque.

January 2024 strikes 1 January Six people were killed in an air raid.

5 January 50 homes were destroyed in the al-Sikka area of Jabalia.

20 January Multiple people were killed after a house was destroyed in a bombing.

23 January The Palestinian Red Crescent reported three were killed and ten wounded in an airstrike.

24 January At least a dozen people were reported killed in an airstrike on a multistory family home.

February strikes 6 February 10 people were reported killed and 10 injured on a strike on a family home.

7 February 20 people were reported killed and 20 injured in an airstrike on a home.

13 February At least seven were killed in Israeli drone strikes on 13 February while trying to access internet.

15 February Two people were killed and multiple people injured in an airstrike on two family homes.

22 February The IDF bombed an UNRWA building sheltering displaced people, with a survivor stating, "An Israeli reconnaissance plane bombed the car, and we found martyrs and wounded in the street".

March strikes 5 March An airstrike on a residential block killed at least eight people.

19 March At least eight people, including children, were killed by Israeli shelling.

26 March Al Jazeera reported that Israel had bombed a house, killing and wounding those inside.

April strikes 16 April One person was killed and eleven wounded after an Israeli warplane reportedly bombed a mosque in the Jabalia refugee camp.

May strikes

12 May On 12 May 2024, Israeli forces reportedly attacked the refugee camp again. Footage allegedly showed Israel dropping bombs on the camp, and using tanks to enter it.

16 May There was a "clear surge" in bombings on the camp, including drone strikes on a kindergarten and on medics. A resident stated, "Tanks and planes are wiping out residential districts and markets, shops, restaurants, everything. It is all happening before the one-eyed world". The Gaza civil defense stated they collected 93 bodies from Jabalia's streets and alleys.

18 May Artillery, drone strikes and missile attacks reportedly killed five people.

19 May Al Jazeera reported Israeli warplanes had bombed the al-Qasaib neighborhood, with an unknown number of casualties.

21 May A camp resident described recent Israeli bombardments, stating, "We came out running and found dismembered heads on the streets".

26 May