Officials say dozens of people were killed in an Israeli attack on a building sheltering displaced people in northern Gaza.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said that at least 34 people, more than half of them women and children, were killed in an Israeli attack early Tuesday on a five-story building housing displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza.

The ministry’s emergency service said 20 more people were injured in the attack in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, near the Israeli border.

Reuters news agency, citing a Gaza health ministry official, put the death toll at 60 or more, with dozens more injured. Reuters reported that the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said many people were still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli army, which has been carrying out a large-scale operation in northern Gaza for more than three weeks, targeting some of the Hamas militants who have regrouped there.

According to the initial casualty list provided by the emergency services, the dead included a mother and her five children, some of whom were adults, and a second mother and her six children.

Director of nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said that the number of people injured in the attack was very high.

Israeli forces raided the medical facility over the weekend, detaining dozens of medics; this was the latest in a series of raids on hospitals since the beginning of the war. The army announced that many Hamas militants were detained in the raid on Kemal Advan.

The Israeli military has repeatedly attacked shelters for displaced people in recent months, saying it was carrying out precision strikes targeting Palestinian militants and trying to avoid harming civilians. Women and children were often killed during strikes.

Reuters news agency put the death toll in the attack at 55 or more; At least 55 Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured in Israel’s attack on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said:

It was stated that many victims are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

Israel’s last major operation, focusing on the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands from their homes, plunging more than a year into war in the small coastal region in a new wave of mass displacement.

Israel also sharply restricted aid to the north this month. Warning from the USA Failure to facilitate further relief efforts could lead to reduced military aid.

Palestinians fear that Israel will implement a plan proposed by a group of former generals who have suggested ordering the evacuation of civilians in the north, cutting off aid supplies and considering anyone remaining there as militants.

While the military has denied executing such a plan, the government has not publicly said whether it was executing all or part of it.

The Israeli parliament on Monday passed two laws that could prevent the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the largest provider of aid in Gaza, from operating in Palestinian territory. This was the culmination of a long-running campaign against UNRWA, which Israel claimed was infiltrated by Hamas, allegations denied by the organisation.

According to Agence France-Presse, the move led to increasing international backlash; Even staunch supporters of Israel, such as Britain and Germany, have expressed displeasure.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was “gravely concerned”. Germany said this would “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem impossible… endangering vital humanitarian aid to millions of people.”

Hamas said it was an act of “Zionist aggression”, while its ally Islamic Jihad described it as an “escalation of genocide”.

The UN and UNRWA also raised strong objections.

However, Israeli MP Yuli Edelstein said in parliament: “There is a deep connection between the terrorist organization (Hamas) and UNRWA, and Israel cannot tolerate this.”

When did the war start Hamas-led militants raided Israel on October 7, 2023Approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 were kidnapped. There are currently around 100 hostages in Gaza, and a third of them are believed to be dead.

More than 43,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s retaliatory attack, according to local health authorities. Approximately 90% of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes, often multiple times.