An Israeli airstrike on a five-story residential building in Beit Lahia, located in northern Gaza, has killed at least 34 people, including women and children, according to local civil defense officials.
The bombing flattened the building, leaving a pile of rubble where it once stood. Dozens of people are feared to still be trapped under the debris, and seven others have been injured.
Civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said the chances of rescuing more survivors were diminishing due to continuous Israeli artillery shelling and airstrikes in the area.
“The whole area was shaking,” one resident whose family lived in the destroyed building told newsmen, describing the shock and panic caused by the attack.
The Israeli military confirmed it had it had conducted strikes in northern Gaza, including Beit Lahia, targeting what it described as militant sites to disrupt Hamas activity and prevent the group from regrouping.
Israel claims its offensive is aimed at neutralizing “terrorist targets.”
In addition to the Beit Lahia strike, three separate attacks on refugee camps in central Gaza left 15 more people dead, while a drone attack in the southern city of Rafah killed five others.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate. Over the past five weeks, Israel’s ground offensive has displaced around 130,000 people, with many unable to escape the increasingly dangerous areas.
The United Nations estimates that at least 75,000 people in Gaza remain trapped in areas like Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, facing critical shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.
In the face of the ongoing violence, many Gaza residents have expressed frustration at the destruction of their homes and the difficulty of fleeing.
A woman in Beit Lahia told BBC News, “What have we done to you people? What harm have we caused you? We are staying in our homes. Why are you driving us out?”
The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned the scale of destruction and displacement in Gaza.
A recent report by Human Rights Watch accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity by intentionally causing mass displacement.
Since Israel launched its offensive following the October 7th Hamas unprecedented attack on southern Israel, over 43,700 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel’s operation in Gaza, which aims to dismantle Hamas following its attack that killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel, has led to severe consequences for the Palestinian civilian population.
The UN reports that nearly 1.9 million people—90% of Gaza’s population—have been displaced over the past year, with 79% of the territory now under Israeli-issued evacuation orders.