At least 48 people were killed in Israeli attacks on three residential neighborhoods in Gaza on Saturday.
Death toll of at least 100
According to 20Minutos this comes shortly after the local Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reported a death toll of 100 since Saturday afternoon, marking the highest number in weeks.
Videos circulating on social media show injured Gazans in the Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, emerging from the smoke and dust with gray faces and clothes due to building collapses, creating a scene of widespread panic and ruined buildings.
Ambulances denied acess
In Al Shati, at least 22 people were reported dead, according to rescue teams who lamented their inability to reach all the injured trapped under the rubble.
"Ambulance teams are being denied access to bombed areas; civil defense capabilities are not proportionate to the scale of destruction, and it is difficult for us to reach the victims," said a spokesperson for the Red Crescent in Gaza.
In a second attack on the Al Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, 19 bodies, including children, were reportedly recovered from the rubble, with seven more found in the Zeitun area. Additionally, 14 people are missing, and 50 were injured, according to sources from the Government Media Office, controlled by Hamas.
EU Calls for Independent Investigation
The Israeli army reported on Saturday that they had bombed two "Hamas military infrastructure" points in Gaza City with fighter jets, but no further details were provided.
Local media suggested a possible assassination attempt on a high-ranking Hamas official may have triggered the attacks. Hamas condemned the attacks as a "savage assault on unarmed civilians" and called it a continuation of an eight-month-long genocide, violating international laws prohibiting attacks on civilians.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called for an independent investigation into the attacks and stressed that the Red Cross in Gaza must be able to perform its functions under the Geneva Conventions, including humanitarian protection and assistance to victims.
