An Israeli attack on a residential area in the northern Gaza Strip killed 66 people, most of them women and children, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
More than a hundred others were injured, the report said.
WAFA reported that the attack occurred early Thursday morning. It said rescuers were digging with their bare hands to find the victims, citing medical sources from the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that infrastructure belonging to the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in the Beit Lahia area had been hit. Terrorists who took part in the October 7 attack on Israel last year had been active there, the IDF said.
The region was an active combat zone and locals had been warned in advance, the IDF said. It added that the victim report was being investigated.
The information could not be independently verified.
Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. Omar Ashtawy Apaimages/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
