JERUSALEM >> The Israeli military has bombed a densely populated tent encampment in the southern Gaza Strip designated as a humanitarian zone for thousands of displaced Palestinians, saying the airstrike targeted a loaded weapons launcher in the area.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa and a paramedic based at a medical center where the wounded were taken said at least one person had been killed in the airstrike on the zone, called Muwasi, which took place Wednesday. Wafa reported that the victim was a child and that more than 20 other people had been injured.

The Israeli military said it had targeted the launcher because it posed a threat to Israeli civilians but did not give further details or say what type of weapons the launcher was carrying. The military added that it had issued advanced warnings to civilians in the area to evacuate.

The Israeli military has carried out a number of strikes on Muwasi in the past and has accused Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, of systematically using the humanitarian zone and civilian infrastructure to attack Israelis.

Video on social media, verified by The New York Times, captured a projectile and a large explosion. The projectile hits the ground with a deafening boom, and people can be seen running away as a cloud of dust flies into the sky.