The Hamas Health Ministry said that Israel launched an air strike on the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, leaving at least 93 people dead or missing.
Rescuers said a five-story residential building was hit, and videos on social media showed bodies covered with blankets on the floor.
There was no immediate comment on the attack from the Israeli military, which earlier this month said Hamas was regrouping in the area and launching a new offensive in the area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been operating in northern Gaza over the past two weeks, particularly in the areas of Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital near Jabaliya, told AFP that children were being treated at the hospital, which was struggling to treat patients due to a lack of staff and medicines.
“After the army arrested our medical team and staff, Kamal Adwan Hospital was left with nothing but emergency supplies,” Abu Safia said.
The Israel Defense Forces raided the hospital last week, saying it was being used by Hamas militants.
Israel says the operation in northern Gaza is aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping and accuses them of blending in with civilians, something Hamas denies.
It said in a statement on Tuesday that it had killed 40 “terrorists” in Jabaliya and said it had “eliminated many terrorists” in central Gaza over the past 24 hours, including some ” “Terrorists trying to plant explosives near troops”.
The northern Gaza Strip faces a deepening humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people living in despair.
“Israeli forces are putting entire populations at risk of bombing, siege and starvation,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Walker Türk said on Friday.
He also said that reports of Palestinian armed groups operating among civilians, including in shelters for displaced persons, and subjecting them to harm were unacceptable.
Israel’s Knesset voted on Monday to pass legislation banning UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating in the country. prompting warnings that aid to Gaza could be severely affected..
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas after it launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
More than 42,924 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its data.
Israel does not allow international journalists from media organizations such as the BBC independent access to Gaza, making it difficult to verify facts on the ground.
