An Israeli strike on a five-story building sheltering displaced Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 60 people early Tuesday, more than half of them women and children, the Ministry of Defense said. Health run by Hamas in Gaza.
Dr. Marwan al-Hams, director of the field hospitals department at the Gaza Health Ministry, announced the results of Tuesday’s strike in the northern town of Beit Lahiya during a press conference , adding that 17 other people were missing.
The Reuters news agency reported that the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said many people were still trapped under the rubble.
Health Ministry emergency services said at least 12 women and 20 children, including babies, were among the dead.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army, which has been carrying out a large-scale operation in northern Gaza for more than three weeks, targeting what it says are pockets of militants. of Hamas who regrouped there.
Abdoul Karim Farid / REUTERS
Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, said he was overwhelmed by the wave of injuries resulting from the strike.
Israeli forces raided the medical facility over the weekend, arresting dozens of doctors, the latest in a series of raids on hospitals since the start of the war. The army said it arrested many Hamas militants during the raid on Kamal Adwan.
The Israeli military has repeatedly struck shelters for displaced people in recent months, saying it carried out precise strikes targeting Palestinian militants and tried to avoid harming civilians. Strikes often killed women and children.
The Reuters news agency estimates the death toll in the strike at 55 or more, with dozens injured. At least 55 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported. » declared the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service.
He added that many victims would still be trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s latest major operation in northern Gaza, centered on the Jabaliya refugee camp, has killed hundreds of people and driven tens of thousands from their homes in a new wave of mass displacement, more than a year after the start of the war in this small coastal territory.
Israel also sharply restricted its aid to the north this month, prompting a warning from the United States that failure to facilitate greater aid efforts could lead to a reduction in military aid.
The Palestinians fear that Israel will implement a plan proposed by a group of former generals who suggested that the civilian population in the north should be ordered to evacuate, that aid supplies should be cut off and that anyone remaining there should be considered an activist.
The military has denied implementing such a plan, while the government has not made it clear whether it is implementing all or part of it.
On Monday, the Israeli parliament passed two laws that could prevent the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees – the largest aid provider to Gaza – from operating in the Palestinian territories. It was the culmination of a long campaign against UNRWA, which Israel says has been infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the agency denies.
The move sparked a growing international outcry, with even such staunch supporters of Israel as Britain and Germany expressing their displeasure, according to Agence France-Presse.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was “gravely concerned”. Germany said this would “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem impossible… putting vital humanitarian aid for millions of people at risk.”
Hamas said it was an act of “Zionist aggression,” while its ally Islamic Jihad described it as “an escalation of genocide.”
The UN and UNRWA also expressed strong objections.
But Israeli MP Yuli Edelstein told parliament that “there is a deep connection between the terrorist organization (Hamas) and UNRWA, and Israel cannot stand it.”
The war started when Hamas-led militants burst into Israel on October 7, 2023killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 250. Around 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to have died.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. About 90% of the 2.3 million residents have been displaced from their homes, often multiple times.
