“This war must end, the [Israeli] hostages held by Hamas must be freed, the displacement of Palestinians must cease, and civilians must be protected wherever they are.”
The IDF’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said that the casualty figures “do not correspond to the information received by the IDF, the types of precision ammunition that were used and the accuracy of the hit on a Hamas terrorist target”.
He reiterated that northern Gaza remains an active combat zone. “The IDF operates precisely and with a specific target and does everything in its power to avoid harming civilians who are not involved in the fighting,” he added.
Images and video from a nearby hospital showed dozens of people, including children, receiving treatment.
The attack took place just days after the killing of the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Despite the death of Israel’s most wanted man, the IDF has continued to carry out airstrikes in northern Gaza, where remnants of Hamas remain active.
Israel has intensified attacks since the beginning of the month as it hopes to eliminate the Iran-backed terror group and stop it regrouping.