At least 18 people have died following an Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the victims. Dozens of others were injured, the spokesperson and another doctor at the hospital said.
Most of those killed and wounded were children, the two health officials added. They fear the death toll could rise, as many are still missing, believed to be under the rubble.
CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties on the ground.
A video obtained by CNN shows several people in the neighborhood digging under rubble with their bare hands, looking for survivors. Another video from Al-Aqsa hospital shows the bodies of small children shrouded in blankets as they were carried into the facility on stretchers with other victims.
People search for victims in the rubble of the Baraka family home in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, after an Israeli airstrike on February 18. AFP/Getty Images
According to witnesses, the strike directly hit a family home and damaged surrounding buildings. Neighbors and other witnesses told CNN the family had been sheltering about 40 displaced relatives who fled Rafah in the south over the past 48 hours.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the alleged airstrike Sunday. On Saturday, the military said it was targeting a series of Hamas “operational command and control centers” in central Gaza.
Relatives mourn by a shrouded body after an Israeli airstrike hit the Baraka family home in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on February 18. AFP/Getty Images
Looming offensive: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Saturday there is “a lot of space” north of Rafah for people to flee if Israel proceeds with anticipated military operations against Hamas there. Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza city near the border with Egypt — many already displaced from elsewhere in the enclave.
Some have fled to Deir al-Balah amid news of the coming offensive, United Nations officials said last week. But Sunday’s reported strikes followed a series of strikes in the city on Saturday that killed at least 68 people, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
