Two Israeli airstrikes on buildings in Gaza City have resulted in the deaths of at least 38 people and numerous injuries, according to Hamas.
The Israeli military stated that its warplanes targeted Hamas military infrastructure and promised to provide further details later.
According to a Gaza civil defence spokesperson, a residential block in the al-Shati area, one of Gaza’s historic refugee camps, was hit multiple times. Houses in the al-Tuffah district were also hit.
Footage showed people carrying the wounded and searching for survivors amid the dust-filled streets and wreckage.
The death toll was estimated at 42.
Israeli media suggested the airstrikes may have targeted a senior Hamas official.
Hussein Muhaisen, a civil defense spokesperson in Gaza City, told AFP that the impact of the strikes felt “like an earthquake.”
“The whole area was targeted, as you see homes were destroyed. There are still families under the rubble,” he said.
“Some of the injured were transferred to the Baptist Hospital, and now we are rescuing others from under the rubble, and the situation is very, very difficult due to the lack of tools and fuel for ambulances.”
Meanwhile, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned Friday’s shelling of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) offices in Gaza, which the ICRC reported had killed 22 people who had sought shelter around its compound.
He called for an independent investigation and for those responsible to be apprehended.
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that an initial inquiry into the incident in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza found “no direct attack carried out by the IDF against a Red Cross facility”.
The IDF said the incident would be “quickly examined” and the findings presented.
Israel launched a campaign to dismantle Hamas in response to a significant attack on southern Israel on October 7. The attack resulted in the death of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 251 others.
Since then, more than 37,551 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but by the end of April, it had reportedly identified 14,680 children, women, and elderly people among the dead.
