ReutersBeit Rahia has been hit by strikes before (photo from June)
The Hamas-run Beit Lahia city authorities in the Gaza Strip say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 73 people, including women and children, in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia.
Dozens of other people were injured after the bombing late Saturday night, and many remain trapped under the rubble, the official added.
Israel said it was confirming reports of casualties, but said the figures released by Hamas authorities were “exaggerated” and inconsistent with information held by the military.
The airstrike came just hours after reports of “heavy gunfire” by Israeli forces at an Indonesian hospital in the city.
Rescue operations in Beit Lahia are currently hampered by a disruption to communications and internet services in the area, Gaza health officials said.
The Hamas-run government news agency said the bombing hit a “densely packed” residential area and killed 73 people. This figure was also reported by Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency. The BBC cannot independently verify this figure.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the airstrike destroyed an entire housing complex.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC it was attacking “Hamas terrorist targets” and was “doing everything possible to avoid harm to civilians.”
He said the casualty figures announced by the Hamas office were “exaggerated” and that these sources “have proven to be highly unreliable in past incidents.”
In early October, Israel launched a new military offensive in northern Gaza, saying it was trying to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the area.
In particular, Israeli forces have surrounded and shelled the Jabalia area, a densely populated area that includes an urban refugee camp, with at least 33 people reportedly killed in an attack late Friday.
Humanitarian groups have warned that virtually no aid has entered the region for the past few weeks. According to Israel’s own statistics, aid deliveries to Gaza as a whole have fallen significantly compared to the same period in September.
The UN’s top humanitarian official, Joyce Musya, said on Saturday that Palestinians in northern Gaza were enduring “unspeakable horrors” and called for an end to these “atrocities”.
Israeli Minister Amichai Tsikri told the BBC that Israel had “blockaded” parts of northern Gaza.
“We allowed civilians to flee to safe areas and stopped the flow of supplies into the blockaded areas,” he told the NewsHour program, referring to the IDF’s warning to people in the north to evacuate. Ta.
He claimed this was “legal according to international law.”
Israel has repeatedly denied that it is blocking the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but the United States has directed Israel to expand access or lose some of its military aid. is at risk of being discontinued.
Beit Lahia is located near Jabalia and has been the focus of Israeli military attacks for the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out at least a dozen airstrikes on Beirut on Saturday, the heaviest attack the Lebanese capital has seen in more than a week.
At least one high-rise building in the city’s southern suburbs was completely destroyed, although damage and casualties are still being assessed.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah’s weapons storage facility and intelligence headquarters command center in Dahiyeh.
Hezbollah also continues to fire rockets into northern Israel, with the Israeli military saying about 200 projectiles (usually meaning rockets) were fired on Saturday.
One person was killed by shrapnel while riding in the car, Israeli medical services official Magen David Adom said.
Also on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an attempt on his life had been made following reports of a drone attack on a private residence.
“Today’s assassination attempt on me and my wife by Iran’s Hezbollah proxy was a grave mistake,” he said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time, but no one was injured.
Iran claims Hezbollah was behind the reported attack, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. Hezbollah, which receives funding and equipment from Iran, has not commented on the report.
At least 42,519 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured in Gaza since the war began last October, according to Hamas-led authorities.
The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leaving around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken to Gaza as hostages. Israel responded by vowing to destroy Hamas.
The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza earlier this week raised hopes in some regions that the conflict would end.
But the group’s deputy leader said Hamas would only get stronger and that Israeli hostages would not be returned until Israel withdrew from Gaza.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also said on Saturday that Sinwar’s death would not stop the “Axis of Resistance” – a regional network of Iranian-backed heavily armed militias opposed to Israel.
“Hamas is alive and will continue to be alive,” Khamenei added in a statement.
BBC Verify analyzes footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s murder
