An Israeli air strike killed 87 people, mostly women and children, in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia. Reuters
An Israeli air strike killed 87 people, mostly women and children, in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia. Reuters

At least 87 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza's Beit Lahia



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An Israeli air strike on Gaza's northern city of Beit Lahia killed at least 87 people on Saturday night, official Palestinian media reported as rescuers combed the rubble for survivors.

Israel launched "violent raids" across Beit Lahia late on Saturday, the official Wafa news agency said, destroying an entire residential block in an area that was more overcrowded than usual after families fled from other parts of northern Gaza. Forty others were wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday, with some in a critical condition.

Elsewhere in Gaza, five people were killed in strikes on Gaza city and Rafah. Israeli drones also fired at an ambulance and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the grounds of Al Awda Hospital. It came hours after a child was killed and several others wounded in Israeli shelling on Nuseirat refugee camp.

Beit Lahia, the nearby Jabalia refugee camp and other parts of northern Gaza have been besieged by Israeli forces for more than two weeks.

Renewed air strikes were reported on several homes in Jabalia camp overnight, while Israeli tanks advanced on the nearby Indonesian Hospital and partially demolished its walls. At least two people are reported to have died and dozens are trapped inside the hospital, which has been targeted by Israeli forces for several days. The hospital has been attacked several times since the war began, with its grounds described as a "mass grave" following an Israeli raid last November.

Israeli troops also shelled the Al Awda Hospital three times, injuring several staff, Wafa added.

Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in northern Gaza, where little food or aid has entered since the siege began earlier this month. The army operation has resulted in "the demolition, destruction, and burning of entire residential neighbourhoods", Wafa said on Saturday night, killing hundreds of people and preventing medical crews from reaching the wounded.

Soldiers and tanks also surrounded shelters for the displaced, arresting a number of men and boys. No details were given on the time or place of their arrest.

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Updated: October 20, 2024, 12:26 PM