'Horrifying' Israeli strike on Gaza residential block kills at least 93 people, including 20 children

A US State Department spokesperson called the Israeli airstrike a "horrifying incident with a horrifying result".

Relatives mourn Palestinians who died as a result of Israeli attacks on a five-storey building in Beit Lahia, Gaza on 29 October, 2024. Source: Getty / Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut

Key Points

• An Israel strike on a residential building in northern Gaza has killed at least 93 people, officials say.
• The Gaza health ministry says healthcare system in north Gaza has collapsed
• The director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital said it was overwhelmed by the wave of wounded people from the strike.

At least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry said, and the US called the incident "horrifying".

Medics said at least 20 children were among the dead.

"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them," the territory's health ministry said in a statement.

A damaged ambulance at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday. Source: AFP, Getty / -/AFP via Getty Images

Later on Tuesday, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza government media office, put the number of fatalities at 93.

There was no immediate Israeli comment. The Israeli military has frequently questioned figures on death toll published by the Hamas-run media office, saying they were often exaggerated.

Israel's main ally the United States said it was concerned by the high casualty toll, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller calling it a "horrifying incident with a horrifying result".

Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, said it was overwhelmed by the wave of wounded people from the strike.

Israeli forces raided the medical facility at the weekend, detaining dozens of medics.

Israel's latest major operation in northern Gaza, focused on the Jabalia refugee camp, has killed hundreds of people and driven tens of thousands from their homes in another wave of mass displacement more than a year into the war in the tiny coastal territory.

Israel has also sharply restricted aid to the north this month, prompting a warning from the United States that failure to facilitate greater aid efforts could lead to a reduction in military aid.

Since Israel launched its offensive against Gaza in October last year, more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.

Hamas-led militant' October 7 attack on Israel last year killed 1,200 people, taking around 250 hostages. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

About 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced from their homes, often multiple times.