Key Points
- At least 87 people were killed or are missing after an Israeli airstrike on a town in northern Gaza.
- The Israeli military claimed the deadly strike targeted Hamas.
- A UN envoy condemned the ongoing attacks on civilians, highlighting the "ever-worsening humanitarian crisis".
At least 87 people have been killed or are missing under rubble after an Israeli attack on northern Gaza's town of Beit Lahiya, with more than 40 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli military has said it was investigating reports of Saturday's incident, which left one of the highest casualty tolls in months, but claims to have hit a Hamas target.
Gaza's health ministry said rescue operations were being hindered by communications problems and by the Israeli military operation still going on around the area, close to the borderline with Israel, the ministry said.
"Victims are still under the rubble and on the road, and ambulance teams and civil emergency can't reach them," Gaza's health ministry said in a statement.
The strike, late on Saturday night, came two weeks into a major operation around the town of Jabalia, just to the south of Beit Lahiya, where the Israel Defense Forces say it has been trying to eliminate remaining Hamas fighters.
"Horrifying scenes unfolding in Gaza amidst conflict, relentless Israeli strikes and an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis. I condemn the continuing attacks on civilians," UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland posted on X.
"Hostages must be freed, displacement of Palestinians must cease, & civilians must be protected," he wrote.
Evacuation orders, directing people south, have fuelled fears among many Palestinians that the operation is intended to clear them out of the northern part of Gaza in order to help ensure Israeli control of the area after the war.
Israel has denied any such plans, saying the repeated mass displacement events are an attempt to protect civilians and separate them from Hamas fighters.
The military says it has killed scores of armed Palestinian fighters, located weapons, and dismantled a variety of military infrastructure during the operation in Jabalia, home to one of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps.
Residents in Jabalia said Israeli forces raided shelters housing displaced families and detained dozens of men.
had drawn hopes of a possible opening up of moves to end the fighting in Gaza.
But the latest incident underscores how intense the conflict in Gaza still remains, even as Israel's main focus has shifted north to its operation against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 42,500 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
With much of the coastal enclave destroyed, thousands more people are thought to be buried under the rubble.
