At least 34 killed in Israeli strike in northern Gaza
An Israeli airstrike on a five-story residential building in Beit Lahia, located in northern Gaza, has claimed at least 34 lives, according to the local civil defense agency. The agency reported that many of the victims were women and children, and numerous others are still feared to be trapped beneath the debris. Seven additional individuals were injured.
The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted militant positions in northern Gaza, including Beit Lahia, as part of efforts to prevent Hamas from reorganizing.
In other areas, 15 people were killed in three separate airstrikes on refugee camps in central Gaza, while five more died in a drone attack on Rafah in the south, the civil defense reported.
Civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said that the chances of rescuing more survivors were diminishing due to ongoing shelling and gunfire.
The remains of the Beit Lahia building are now a heap of rubble, with broken concrete and twisted metal jutting from the wreckage.
One man, whose family had lived in the destroyed building but was staying elsewhere at the time, shared with AFP: “We all thought that death was near. The whole area was shaking.”
The Israeli military stated that its offensive in northern Gaza, which began in Jabalia and expanded into Beit Lahia, involved multiple airstrikes overnight targeting what it described as “terrorist targets” in the region.
It added in a statement that “there have been continuous efforts to evacuate the civilian population from the active war zone”.
But many local residents do not want to leave their homes. Mr Bassel said six families had lived in the razed building in Beit Lahia.
One woman in the area vented her frustration to BBC News.
“What have we done to you people? What harm have we caused you? What wrong have we committed? We are staying in our homes. Why are you driving us out?”
Last week, at least 25 people, including 13 children were killed in a strike on a house in Jabalia. In Gaza City, another five were killed.
Israel’s ground offensive in northern Gaza has displaced up to 130,000 people over the past five weeks.
The United Nations says 75,000 people remain under siege with dwindling supplies of water and food in the towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
A report by Human Rights Watch this week said Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by deliberately causing the mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
About 1.9 million people – 90% of Gaza’s population – have fled their homes over the past year, and 79% of the territory is under Israeli-issued evacuation orders, according to the UN.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 43,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
