Beit Lahiya, a town in northern Gaza subjected to a 25-day blockade and extensive bombing by Israel, has been declared a \u201cdisaster area.\u201d The US State Department confirmed that “two dozen children” were killed in a recent airstrike on the area. However, the Department noted it \u201cdoes not yet know the underlying circumstances,\u201d implying there may be factors yet to be assessed.<\/p>\n
The municipality of Beit Lahiya, where the humanitarian crisis deepens daily due to the Israeli occupation, blockade, and ongoing attacks, declared the area a “disaster zone” and called for urgent aid.<\/p>\n
A municipal statement described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe, citing severe shortages of essential supplies including food, water, medical services, ambulances, civil defense, and communication facilities. The statement read: “For these reasons, we declare Beit Lahiya a disaster area and urgently call for help to save those at risk in a city enduring massacre and genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 93 Palestinians were killed, and “dozens” were injured, in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City.<\/p>\n
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed the attack during the daily press briefing, expressing that the US was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the incident. Miller stated, \u201cThis was a terrible incident with devastating consequences. I can\u2019t confirm the total number of casualties, but two dozen children were killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Undoubtedly, many of these children had been fleeing the conflict for over a year,” he added. Miller also noted that the US had contacted the Israeli government for further information on the incident, saying that the full circumstances were not yet known.<\/p>\n
Separately, Miller responded to reports that Israel had detained doctors in Gaza, describing it as a “worrying” development if confirmed. “If there is no reasonable basis for detaining doctors, and if this is hindering critical life-saving efforts, we would certainly be concerned, as we always are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beit Lahiya, a town in northern Gaza subjected to a 25-day blockade and extensive bombing by Israel, has been declared a \u201cdisaster area.\u201d The US State Department confirmed that “two dozen children” were killed in a recent airstrike on the area. However, the Department noted it \u201cdoes not yet know the underlying circumstances,\u201d implying there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3248,1334,1612,812,1623,2766,1192,2240],"class_list":["post-5903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middleeast","tag-beit-lahiya","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-conflict","tag-israel","tag-massacre","tag-matthew-miller","tag-united-states","tag-us-state-department"],"yoast_head":"\n