Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday killed at least 40 Palestinians, including two dozen when they struck a residential building in the northern town of Jabalia, according to Palestinian health officials and a human rights group.
At least 24 people lost their lives when an Israeli strike destroyed the three-story building in Jabalia at dawn, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza. The PCHR said in a statement that thirty other people from nearby houses sustained injuries.
Footage circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed about a dozen bodies wrapped in blankets and laid on the ground outside a hospital near Jabalia. Local media reported that the bodies were those of those killed in the attack on the residential building, which, according to residents, housed at least 30 people.
The Israeli military said it struck a site in Jabalia in which “terrorists were operating.”
“These terrorists posed a threat to IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) troops operating in the area. The details are under review,” the Israel military said.
In Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Sabra neighborhood on Sunday killed Wael Al-Khour, an official at the welfare ministry, as well as his wife, Khour; one son; two daughters; and three grandchildren, medical officials and relatives said.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, evacuated 20 patients from Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia on Sunday to another facility in Gaza City.
An Israeli checkpoint separating northern Gaza areas from Gaza City reportedly held up the ambulances for hours, resulting in the death of one of the patients.
Israeli forces have besieged the three hospitals in and around Jabalia for several weeks, and despite the depletion of food, medical, and fuel supplies, hospital officials have refused army orders to evacuate the facilities or leave their patients unattended.
The Israeli military accuses Palestinian militant group Hamas of exploiting the civilian population and property in Gaza for military purposes, a charge the militant group denies.
Hamas’ armed wing said it killed 15 Israeli soldiers in an attack in the city of Beit Lahiya, north of Jabalia, on Sunday.
There has been no comment from Israel, and Reuters could not independently verify the account.
An ongoing Israeli raid on two towns and a refugee camp in northern Gaza, which started on October 5, has halted the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service’s operations.
Israel says it sent forces since October 5 into Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to fight Hamas militants waging attacks from there and to prevent them from regrouping. It says its troops have killed hundreds of militants in those areas since the new offensive began.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire between the two warring sides have failed so far, with Israel and Hamas trading blame.
Qatar, which has been negotiating a ceasefire alongside Egypt and the United States, has announced the opening of a new tab. Hamas and Israel will suspend their efforts until both sides show “willingness and seriousness” to resume talks, its foreign ministry said on Saturday.
There was no official response from Hamas or Israel.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing another 253 hostages by Israeli tallies. Israel’s military campaign has leveled much of Gaza and killed around 43,500 Palestinians, Palestinian health officials say.
