Dozens killed, hurt in Israeli strikes

Dozens of Palestinians were killed or injured in an Israeli strike on a multi-storey residential building in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya yesterday, medics told Reuters.

There was no immediate figure for how many people were killed. The Palestinian Civil Emergency said around 70 people have lived in the property.

• Suspects arrested after flares shot targetting Netanyahu’s home
• Israel sends draft orders to more ultra-Orthodox
• Death toll in Gaza rises to 43,846

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office put the number of those killed at 72, saying the strike hit a residential building that housed members of six families.

The Israeli military said several strikes were conducted overnight on “terrorist targets” in Beit Lahiya with everything possible done to avoid civilian harm.

“All information released by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health should be treated with caution, as it has been repeatedly proven unreliable in previous incidents,” it said.

The Israeli army sent tanks into Beit Lahiya and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps, last month in what it said was a campaign to fight Hamas waging attacks and prevent them from regrouping.

Earlier yesterday, an Israeli air strike killed at least 10 people in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, when a missile hit a house, medics said. Four other people were killed in the nearby Nuseirat camp, they added.

The Gaza health ministry said at least 43,846 people have been confirmed dead since October 7, 2023, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile, three suspects were arrested, Israeli police said yesterday morning, after two flares landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the central town of Caesarea.

The speaker of Israel’s parliament, Amir Ohana, accused anti-government protesters of being behind the incident, reports AFP.

The Israeli military issued call-up notices to more members of the ultra-Orthodox community yesterday to bolster its forces as it fights on its southern and northern borders, a move that may further inflame tensions between religious and secular Israelis.

Israel’s defense ministry said 7,000 members of the community would gradually receive notices.

Qatar has told Hamas and Israel it will stall efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until they show “willingness and seriousness” to resume talks.

The two warring sides continue to trade blame. Hamas wants a deal that ends the offensive, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the offensive can only end once Hamas is eradicated.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a Human Rights Watch report this week alleging that its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a “crime against humanity”, as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing to warfare practices “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.