Beit Lahia massacre
 | This article documents a massacre. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (October 2024) |
| Beit Lahia massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the second battle of Jabalia during the Israel–Hamas war | |
  Beit Lahia Location within the Gaza Strip | |
| Location | Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, Palestine |
| Date | 19 October 2024 |
Attack type | Massacre, airstrikes, artillery |
| Deaths | 87+ Palestinians, mostly women and children |
| Injured | 40+ Palestinians |
| Perpetrator |  Israel Defense Forces |
On 19 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces conducted attacks on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, killing at least 87 Palestinians and injuring more than 40, with many more missing due to being trapped under the rubble. Israeli airstrikes and artillery shells struck several buildings in densely packed residential blocks filled with local residents and evacuees, primarily in the western regions of the city.[1]
Background
Beit Lahia is a city in the Gaza Strip, north of Jabalia, towards the western area of the North Gaza Governorate in the State of Palestine. It sits next to Beit Hanoun and close to the border with Israel. In December 2023, the Israel Defence Forces began an offensive in Beit Lahia. Israel launched airstrikes on targets Hamas militants.[2] On 12 December, Israel raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital.[3][4] On 16 December, Israeli bulldozers crushed people sheltering outside the hospital.[5] One reporter described "a terrifying massacre and unspeakable scenes" and stating, "Dozens of displaced, sick and wounded people were buried alive".[6]
In April 2024, Israel withdrew all territories in the Gaza Strip except for the Netzarim Corridor, returning the northern villages such as As-Siafa back to Palestinian control until the second Israeli invasion of northern Gaza in May 2024 as a result of Hamas regrouping in some areas there.[7] By June 2024, Gaza's Civil Defence stated the destruction in Beit Lahia "defies imagination".[8]
Attacks
On 19 October 2024, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted several attacks on the Beit Lahia Project area, bombarding the central and eastern regions the most intensely. Due to the immense size and range of the attacks, civilians in Beit Lahia and Jabalia were forced to evacuate without warning, which was significantly hindered due to the exceptionally high population density of the area caused by mass displacement around the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses reported that the entire western area of Beit Lahia shook due to the intense bombardments.[9]
A whole residential block in the west of Beit Lahia was targeted and destroyed by numerous Israeli airstrikes, which was densely packed with both locals and evacuees at the time of its destruction. Several buildings collapsed, many of which were filled with civilians who had not had the chance to evacuate or had been taking cover. The numbers are going to be increasing in the coming hours as many people are trapped under the rubble. Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that several overcrowded residential blocks were targeted and struck, many of which were full of women and children.[9] Gaza's civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal reported that the entire targeted residential block had been “leveled to the ground”.[10]
Response
Palestinian civil defense forces and paramedics were unable to reach the sites of the massacre due to continuous Israeli artillery strikes and use of surveillance drones to prevent anyone from reaching the disaster zones. Many of the victims were unable to be rescued due to being trapped under large pieces of concrete and other rubble, preventing rescue teams from reaching them.[9] Over half of the people who were killed in the attack were internally displaced persons who had recently been forcefully evacuated from Jabalia and other regions of northern Gaza due to the renewed Second battle of Jabalia.[11]
Rescue efforts were further hindered by an internet and telecommunications blackout that began the previous day. Hospitals were unable to treat the mass transfer of casualties to their services due to significant shortages in medical supplies and faculty, exacerbated by Israeli blockades and sieges on hospitals in northern Gaza.[12]
Reactions
The Israel Defense Forces stated that casualty numbers from Gaza’s Government Media Office were typically exaggerated, and that the number of deaths reported did not align with Israeli information about the strike, which they stated was meant to be a precise strike against a Hamas target.[12] The IDF further justified their course of action by calling the targeted area part of an "active war zone".[10]
The Hamas' media office called the attack a "horrifying massacre" that was part of a "war of genocide and ethnic cleansing".[12] Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas' political bureau, urged for the international community to not let the massacre go unnoticed, and urged Islamic and Arab groups to besiege American embassies and Israeli embassies in protest.[9]
Middle East Institute political analyst Hassan Mneimneh stated that the massacre and other associated attacks in Northern Gaza were caused by the "de facto participation" of the United States through granting Israel its advanced and high-yield weaponry without any non-performative limitations for use against targets hosting civilians. He further stated that the United States was directly complicit with conscious efforts by Israel to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza, and eventually the Gaza Strip as a whole.[9]
See also
- October 2024 Abu Hussein school attack
- October 2024 Rufaida school attack
- Attacks on Jabalia refugee camp (2023–present)
References
- ^ "At least 87 killed in strike on northern Gaza, local officials say, as Israel continues attacks on Beirut". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ Sabbagh, Dan (2023-12-03). "Israel says its ground forces are operating across 'all of Gaza'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ Tétrault-Farber, Gabrielle. "WHO calls for Gaza hospital to be protected after reported raid". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-12-27. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Israeli forces raid Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital after days of strikes". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Gaza hospital destroyed, WHO chief reiterates ceasefire call". UN News. United Nations. 18 December 2023. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Israeli bulldozers crush sick, wounded Palestinians outside Gaza hospital". The Peninsula Qatar. 16 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ "IDF withdraws all troops from southern Gaza". www.israelhayom.com. Archived from the original on 2024-04-11. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Level of destruction in Beit Lahiya 'defies imagination': Gaza's Civil Defense". YouTube. Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Pietromarchi, Virginia. "At least 73 killed in Israeli attack on Beit Lahiya: Gaza media office". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ a b Loveluck, Louisa; Mahfouz, Heba Farouk; Balousha, Hazem; Harb, Hajar (19 October 2024). "Israeli strike kills at least 73 people in northern Gaza, medics say". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Rowlands, Lyndal. "'No warning' Israeli air strikes kill dozens in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ a b c Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (19 October 2024). "Israeli strikes in northern Gaza cause scores of casualties, doctors say". Reuters. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
