The Israeli military on Tuesday hit a town in the northern Gaza Strip for the third time in just over a week, striking a residential building and killing dozens of people, Gazan officials said, as Israel intensified its offensive in the territory after more than a year of war.
The Palestinian Civil Defense, a Gazan emergency service, said at least 55 people had been killed in the strike in the town of Beit Lahia. Gaza’s Health Ministry put the toll higher, saying that at least 93 people had been killed, including 25 children.
The Israeli military, which asserts it is fighting a regrouped Hamas presence in northern Gaza, said that it was “aware of reports that civilians were harmed” and was looking into the details. The area was previously evacuated, it said, and was “an active combat zone.”
Matthew Miller, a U.S. State Department spokesman, called the strike in Beit Lahia “a horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and noted that many of the children reportedly killed had probably fled strikes in other parts of Gaza. He said the Biden administration had contacted the Israeli government for more information.
Hamas condemned the strike as a “horrific massacre” and demanded international action to stop Israel.
Israeli forces struck another residential block in Beit Lahia on Sunday, killing and wounding dozens, according to the civil defense service. They also hit a residential building in the town on Oct. 20, killing dozens of people, Palestinian officials and emergency workers said.