- US condemns Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as ‘horrifying’
- At least 93 dead or missing in latest airstrikes
- Reports of two dozen children killed
US condemns Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as ‘horrifying’
At least 93 people are dead or missing after an Israeli air strike on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The U.S. State Department condemned the strike as “horrifying,” citing reports that many civilians, including children, were among the casualties.
The Israeli military acknowledged civilian harm in the area and is investigating. Israel has been conducting operations in northern Gaza, claiming they are attempting to dismantle Hamas networks, while Gaza faces an escalating humanitarian crisis with severe shortages of supplies.
The IDF has been attacking northern Gaza over the past two weeks with a focus on areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
The director of the nearby Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia, Hussam Abu Safia, told the AFP news agency that children were being treated at the hospital, which is struggling to treat patients due to a lack of staff and medicines.
“There is nothing left in the Kamal Adwan Hospital except first aid materials after the army arrested our medical team and workers,” Abu Safia said.
The US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US was “deeply concerned by the loss of civilian life in this incident. This was a horrifying incident with a horrifying result”.
He pointed to “reports of two dozen children killed” in the attack.
The “tragic cost to civilians” in the latest strike “is another reminder of why we need to see an end to this war”, Miller said.