Dozens killed in Israeli airstrike on residential complex in Northern Gaza

At least 73 people were killed in an Israeli attack in the city of Beit Lahiya in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. News agencies report this based on information from Hamas. According to emergency workers, a residential complex and several houses were hit by the airstrike.

Dozens of people are said to have been injured and many victims are still buried under the rubble. Local authorities say they expect the death toll to rise further.

Israel confirms that they have carried out airstrikes in the area, but they question the number of deaths stated. According to an Israeli official, a preliminary investigation by the army indicates that the actual death toll is lower. The death toll cannot be independently determined.

Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif says on X that at least ten of his relatives were killed in the attack. “While reporting on the attack, I was shocked to find out that one of the targets of the horns was my cousin’s house.

Hours before the attack in Beit Lahiya, aid workers told Reuters that Israeli forces had surrounded two hospitals in northern Gaza. Supply of medicine and food would be restricted. This applies to the hospitals in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health the hospitals are also protected by Israeli artillery. One person is said to have died.

The Ministry of Health, which is under the political wing of Hamas, says that Israel aims to close the hospitals. The Israeli army denies this. They said he instructed soldiers to save medical supplies and target hospitals “unintentionally.”

The Israeli army launched a new attack on the northern Gaza Strip two weeks ago, saying it wanted to prevent Hamas from gathering there. The Jabalia refugee camp, which ends Beit Lahiya, is largely surrounded by the Israeli army. At least 33 people were killed there by an airstrike on Friday night.

The UN and other aid organizations have warned in recent weeks that very little food aid is coming into Northern Gaza, meaning that famine is on the horizon. Speaker for UNRWA says that children in northern Gaza suffer from “scarce delicacy”.