According to Reuters, at least 93 people were killed or missing and many others were injured in an attack targeting residential buildings in the city of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip launched by the Israeli army on October 29.
Local health officials said many people were still trapped in the rubble and about 20 children were among the dead.
According to witnesses, three buildings in the city of Beit Lahiya were attacked without prior notice and survivors had to evacuate their residences to save their lives.
Israel has not commented on the incident. However, the Israeli military has questioned the casualty statistics of medical forces in Gaza and has said that the numbers are exaggerated.
US Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Matthew Miller said it was a “horrific incident with horrifying consequences” when the death toll from an Israeli attack in Gaza suddenly increased.
US officials immediately contacted the Israeli government to ask what happened after the incident.
The alarming death toll from the October 29 attack also shocked the United Nations. They said it was one of the deadliest attacks in Gaza in the past three months, and called on the parties involved to conduct a prompt investigation to reach the most transparent conclusions for this incident.
Earlier, on October 28, a series of Israeli tanks advanced deep into northern Gaza and shelled many facilities, leaving about 100,000 civilians trapped in areas such as Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical supplies or food.
