At least 87 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit several multi-story buildings in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Saturday night, the enclave’s health ministry said.
The death toll includes 27 bodies recovered so far and 60 people buried in the rubble. More than 40 people were injured, including several in critical cases, the ministry said.
CNN could not confirm the figures, but they match those reported by Kamal Adwan Hospital, where the victims were taken.
Graphic footage showed the bodies of several children among the dead, many with serious injuries. Other video footage showed dozens of body bags in the hospital amid grieving relatives. Nighttime footage showed rescue workers combing through tons of rubble looking for survivors and victims. Daylight footage appeared to show two or three large apartment buildings destroyed by the attack.
An unidentified man at the scene said Sunday morning that there were displaced people in four homes that had been destroyed. “We are calling on the international community to stop the war,” he said. “We are begging you, we are civilians with no connection to anyone. We demand that you stop the war.”
Another woman, crying amid the damage, said that a woman had held her legs as she lay under the rubble. “We were talking to each other when suddenly a big block of concrete fell on us,” she said. “What is left? They killed everyone.”
The woman said that Israel “sent people to Beit Lahia and bombed them there.”
The Israeli military has issued a series of evacuation orders this month for northern Gaza, where it has resumed its ground offensive.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for further comment on the attack. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has previously dismissed reports from the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza that 73 people had been killed as exaggerated, saying it operates in a “precise and targeted manner.”
Graphic footage showed the bodies of several children among the dead, many with serious injuries. Other video footage showed dozens of body bags in the hospital amid grieving relatives. Nighttime footage showed rescue workers combing through tons of rubble looking for survivors and victims. Daylight footage appeared to show two or three large apartment buildings destroyed by the attack.
An unidentified man at the scene said Sunday morning that there were displaced people in four homes that had been destroyed. “We are calling on the international community to stop the war,” he said. “We are begging you, we are civilians with no connection to anyone. We demand that you stop the war.”
Another woman, crying amid the damage, said that a woman had held her legs as she lay under the rubble. “We were talking to each other when suddenly a big block of concrete fell on us,” she said. “What is left? They killed everyone.”
The woman said that Israel “sent people to Beit Lahia and bombed them there.”
The Israeli military has issued a series of evacuation orders this month for northern Gaza, where it has resumed its ground offensive.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for further comment on the attack. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has previously dismissed reports from the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza that 73 people had been killed as exaggerated, saying it operates in a “precise and targeted manner.”
Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya told CNN earlier Sunday that a “large number” of people have been killed and injured and “transferred to the hospital due to a severe shortage of medical personnel and supplies,” and that many of the wounded “are at risk of dying because they are unable to treat them.”
The hospital director also said that the area around the hospital is “under bombardment and direct shelling.”
Dr. Maher Shamiya of the hospital told CNN that staff were “working under pressure, fear, destruction and injuries.”
United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland expressed horror at the airstrike in a statement, saying that “the nightmare in Gaza is getting worse.”
“There are horrific scenes unfolding in the northern strip amid conflict, relentless Israeli attacks and a worsening humanitarian crisis,” Wennesland said, adding that “civilians everywhere must be protected.”
The airstrike comes as the Israeli military re-escalates operations in northern Gaza, saying Hamas is regrouping in the area, and as Israel continues its war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The military said it struck Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters early Sunday.
Israel’s war on both fronts shows no signs of abating, despite the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday after a year-long pursuit.
Sinwar’s death is the latest blow to the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, where the enclave’s Health Ministry says more than 42,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7. But Western officials have said the crucial moment could be used to cement a ceasefire and bring back hostages still trapped in the besieged area.