The Media Line: Israeli Strike on Beit Lahiya Causes Dozens of Casualties, Hamas Claims Massacre

By The Media Line Staff

An Israeli airstrike on several houses and a multi-story residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya on Saturday resulted in dozens of casualties, according to doctors and officials on the ground. Rescue operations are still underway, with initial reports from Hamas media claiming that at least 73 people were killed in the strike.

Medway Abbas, a senior health official in Gaza, confirmed the accuracy of the casualty figures, although the Israeli military has disputed the numbers, stating that they appear exaggerated. The military said the strike targeted a Hamas position, and the reported figures did not match its operational data or the munitions used.

Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the ongoing cutoff of telecommunications and internet services across Gaza, now in its second day, leaving residents and medical teams struggling to communicate and coordinate aid. Earlier, the Gaza health ministry reported that 35 Palestinians were killed across the enclave in various Israeli military strikes.

Hamas’ media office condemned the attack, calling it “a horrifying massacre” and accusing Israel of conducting “a war of genocide and ethnic cleansing.” The situation has grown increasingly dire, particularly in Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee camp, where Israeli forces have encircled the area and issued evacuation orders to nearby towns, including Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

Israel has maintained that its evacuation orders are aimed at separating Hamas fighters from civilians and denied any intention to systematically clear civilians out of Jabalia or other northern areas. However, residents and medics in Jabalia reported that Israeli forces had besieged several shelters housing displaced families and detained dozens of men.