Key points
- At least 87 people have been killed or missing after an Israeli air strike on a town in northern Gaza.
- The Israeli military said the deadly attack had targeted Hamas.
- A UN envoy condemned the ongoing attacks against civilians, underlining the “continuously worsening humanitarian crisis”.
At least 87 people were killed or missing under rubble after an Israeli attack on the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya, with more than 40 injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military said it was investigating reports of Saturday’s crash, which left one of the highest death tolls in months, but claims it hit a Hamas target.
Gaza’s health ministry said rescue operations were hampered by communications problems and an ongoing Israeli military operation in the area, near the border with Israel.
“The victims are still under the rubble and on the street, and ambulance and civil emergency teams cannot reach them,” Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement.
The attack, which occurred late Saturday night, came two weeks after a major operation around the town of Jabalia, just south of Beit Lahiya, where the Israel Defense Forces say they tried to eliminate remaining Hamas fighters .
“Terrifying scenes are unfolding in Gaza amid conflict, relentless Israeli attacks and an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis. I condemn the continued attacks on civilians,” the UN peace envoy for the Middle East wrote in X East, Tor Wennesland.
“The hostages must be released, the displacement of Palestinians must cease, and civilians must be protected,” he wrote.
The evacuation orders, which direct people south, have fueled fears among many Palestinians that the operation is aimed at moving them away from northern Gaza to help ensure Israeli control of the area after the war.
Israel has denied any such plans, saying the repeated mass displacements are an attempt to protect civilians and separate them from Hamas fighters.
The army says it killed dozens of armed Palestinian fighters, located weapons and dismantled a number of military infrastructure during the operation in Jabalia, home to one of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps.
Jabalia residents said Israeli forces raided shelters housing displaced families and arrested dozens of men.
had harbored hopes of a possible opening of initiatives to put an end to the fighting in Gaza.
But the latest incident underlines how intense the conflict still is in Gaza, even as Israel’s main focus has shifted north to the operation against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
Israel has been bombing Gaza ever since in which, according to the Israeli government, more than 1,200 people were killed, including about 30 children, and more than 200 hostages were taken. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 42,500 people have been killed since October 7.
With much of the coastal enclave destroyed, thousands more people are thought to be buried under the rubble.