Dozens of people died in the Israeli attack in the northern Gaza settlement, the US described the incident as ‘terrible’

Health officials said at least 20 children were among the dead

Reuters

30 October 2024 13:15

Last modified: 30 October 2024, 13:22

Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli attacks on homes and residences amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on October 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Abdul Karim Farid/File Photo

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Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli attacks on homes and residences amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on October 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Abdul Karim Farid/File Photo

Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli attacks on homes and residences amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on October 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Abdul Karim Farid/File Photo

At least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry said, and the United States called the incident “horrific.”

Health officials said there were at least 20 children among the dead.

“Some victims are still buried under rubble and on the roads, and ambulances and civil defense teams cannot reach them,” the regional health ministry said in a statement. he said.

Later on Tuesday, Ismail Al-Sawabta, director of the Gaza government’s media office, put the death toll at 93.

There was no immediate comment from Israel. The Israeli military has questioned the death toll figures published by the Hamas-run media office, saying they are often exaggerated.

Israel’s main ally, the United States, said it was concerned about the high death toll, while State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called it “a terrible incident with terrible consequences.”

Speaking to reporters, Miller stated that US officials contacted the Israeli government and asked what happened, adding that he was aware of the news that most of the dead were children.

The UN Human Rights Office said it was “appalled” by one of the deadliest attacks in nearly three months and called for an urgent and transparent investigation into the situation.

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed scores of bodies wrapped in blankets on the ground outside a bombed four-story building. More bodies and survivors were pulled from the rubble as neighbors helped rescue efforts.

Ismail Ouaida said, “There are dozens of martyrs (dead), dozens of displaced people were living in this house. The house was bombed without prior notice. As you can see, martyrs are here and there, their body parts are hung on the walls.” A witness who helped find the bodies said in the video.

Later Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said several people were killed and injured in an Israeli airstrike that hit three houses in Beit Lahiya.

trapped

On Monday, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said nearly 100,000 people were stranded in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical or food supplies. Reuters could not independently verify the number.

Those injured in the Beit Lahiya attack were unable to receive care because doctors had to evacuate nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

“Critical cases without intervention will succumb to their fate and die,” the ministry said in a statement. he said.

The Gaza emergency service said its operations had come to a halt due to Israel’s three-week offensive on northern Gaza. Israel says its campaign is to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian fighter group whose fighters have regrouped in the region in a year-long war.

According to Israeli records, 1,200 people died and more than 250 hostages were captured and taken to Gaza in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The death toll from Israel’s retaliatory air and ground offensive in Gaza has exceeded 43,000, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday.

The war in Gaza has fueled a broader conflict in the Middle East, with Israel bombing Lebanon and sending forces south to oust Hamas’ ally, the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Tuesday’s strike came a day after Israel’s parliament passed legislation banning the UN aid agency UNRWA from operating inside the country; This alarmed some of Israel’s Western allies, who feared this would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israeli officials stated that thousands of personnel of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were involved in the attack on October 7, 2023, and that several personnel were members of Hamas and other armed groups.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini described the move as “collective punishment”.

It is not yet clear how the decision will affect the lives of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations says most of the 2.3 million people have been internally displaced since the war began a year ago.