87 Feared Dead Or Missing Following Israeli Airstrike in Northern Gaza

The overnight strike targeted multiple houses and a residential building complex, known as the Beit Lahiya Project, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed that 87 individuals were either killed or remain missing beneath the debris, with over 40 others injured.

Rescue operations are being hindered by a communications blackout and road blockages, exacerbating challenges in northern Gaza, where a 16-day Israeli military siege has cut access to essential supplies such as food, water, and medicine.

Beit Lahiya, located near Jabalia and Beit Hanoon, is among several areas heavily impacted by the ongoing Israeli genocidal war. Residents across these cities face not only destruction but also disrupted phone and internet services.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the scale of destruction in Beit Lahiya continues to unfold, with many victims trapped under extensive rubble.

“A witness described the powerful explosions from the airstrikes as shaking the very foundations of nearby buildings,” Mahmoud reported.

Concrete debris has blocked access to bombed areas, complicating rescue efforts by paramedics and Civil Defence teams. The majority of victims are women, children, and elderly civilians, Mahmoud added.

“More than half of the dead were evacuees from Jabalia and other parts of northern Gaza,” he noted, forced from their homes under Israeli siege.

Hind Khoudary, also reporting from Deir el-Balah, described rescue teams working under severe constraints, using their bare hands or limited equipment to search for survivors. A baby girl was pulled alive from the rubble on Sunday, she said.

Among the victims in Beit Lahiya were 10 relatives of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

“While covering the attack, I was devastated to find that one of the targeted homes belonged to my cousin,” al-Sharif posted on X.

Earlier, an Israeli assault on the Jabalia refugee camp killed at least 33 Palestinians. Witnesses and medics reported that Israeli forces have tightened the siege on the camp, arresting men from shelters housing displaced families.

Social media footage showed Palestinian men sitting next to a tank under military custody, while others were led to a gathering site by an Israeli soldier.

Gaza health officials reported that three partially operational hospitals treating the wounded and sheltering displaced civilians in northern Gaza have ceased functioning due to sustained Israeli shelling.

Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia was bombed early Saturday, while Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in Beit Lahiya were also targeted, according to Al Jazeera correspondents.

Tor Wennesland, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, condemned the attack in Beit Lahiya, describing the scenes as “horrifying” and calling for the protection of civilians.

“No place is safe in Gaza,” Wennesland said on X, urging an immediate halt to strikes on civilians and an end to displacement.

The Gaza Health Ministry announced Sunday that Israeli attacks since October 7 have resulted in at least 42,603 deaths and 99,795 injuries.

Officials fear the death toll may be significantly higher, with an estimated 10,000 bodies buried beneath the rubble across the Gaza Strip.