Israeli strikes on Gaza’s Beit Lahiya kill at least 73

At least 73 Palestinians, including many women and children, were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli strikes on Saturday that hit several houses in Beit Lahiya town in northern Gaza Strip, medics and Hamas media said.

Medhat Abbas, a senior health ministry official, also said dozens were wounded and missing in the strikes. Medics said they targeted a multi-floor building and damaged several houses nearby.

The Israeli military is checking reports of casualties from an airstrike in northern Gaza, an Israeli official said, adding a preliminary examination suggested the Hamas media office’s numbers were exaggerated and did not match the information available to the Israeli military.

Palestinian health officials said rescue operations were being hampered by the cut-off of telecommunication and internet services for a second day. Earlier in the day, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli military strikes killed 35 Palestinians across the enclave.

“This is a war of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The occupation has conducted a horrifying massacre in Beit Lahiya,” the Hamas media office said.

Residents and medics said Israeli forces had tightened their siege on Jabalia, the largest of the enclave’s eight historic camps, which it encircled by also sending tanks to the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and issuing evacuation orders to residents.

Israeli officials said evacuation orders were aimed at separating Hamas fighters from civilians and denied there was any systematic plan to clear civilians out of Jabalia or other northern areas.