Death toll from Israeli airstrike in central Gaza rises to 106, Palestinian officials say

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian medical officials say the death toll from an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza has risen to 106.

The announcement makes the Sunday night airstrike in the Maghazi refugee camp among the deadliest in Israel’s air campaign in Gaza, launched on Oct. 7 in response to a deadly cross-border attack by Hamas militants.

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Hospital officials initially said 68 people had died. On Monday, first responders retrieved more than three dozen additional bodies that were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah. Hospital records seen by The Associated Press listed 106 deaths.

The Israeli military says the incident is under review.

News of the deadly airstrike caps three bloody days across before Christmas in which Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians at a time and 17 troops were killed in ground fighting in the north, center and south of the territory.

The war has devastated large parts of Gaza, killed more than 20,400 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

The mounting death toll among Israeli troops — 156 since the ground offensive began — could erode public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage.

Israelis still largely stand behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives. That’s despite rising international pressure against Israel’s offensive, and the soaring death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.

Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than two-thirds of the more than 20,400 Palestinians killed have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead.

Since Friday, 17 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat, most in southern and central Gaza – an indication of the heavy fighting in and around the southern city of Khan Younis.

“The war exacts a very heavy price from us, but we have no choice but to continue fighting,” Netanyahu said Sunday.

There has been widespread anger against his government, which many criticize for failing to protect civilians on Oct. 7 and promoting policies that allowed Hamas to gain strength over the years. Netanyahu has avoided accepting responsibility for the military and policy failures.

“Over time, the public will find it hard to ignore the heavy price paid, as well as the suspicion that the aims that were loudly heralded are still far from being attained, and that Hamas is showing no signs of capitulating in the near future,” wrote Amos Harel, military affairs commentator for the Haaretz newspaper.

Israeli strikes continued to take a heavy toll. At a hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, frantic Palestinians carried in the dead, including a baby, and wounded from a strike Sunday on the Maghazi refugee camp east of Deir al-Balah. One bloodied young girl looked stunned while her body was checked for broken bones.

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Seventy people were killed in the strike, including women and children, according to hospital records.

“We were all targeted,” said Ahmad Turkomani, who lost several family members including his daughter and grandson. “There is no safe place in Gaza anyway.”

Hospital records show that the bodies of an additional 80 people killed in strikes across central Gaza were also received at the hospital from Sunday to Monday.

In northern Gaza, Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment and gunfire in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya, an area Israel had claimed to control. The Israeli military said it had completed the dismantling of Hamas’ underground headquarters in northern Gaza.

Israel faces international criticism for the civilian death toll, but it blames Hamas, citing the militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas militants, without presenting evidence.

Israel also faces allegations of mistreating Palestinian men and teenage boys detained in homes, shelters, hospitals and elsewhere during the offensive. The military says it had detained hundreds of Palestinians, including more than 700 who were transferred to Israel for further interrogation about suspected ties to militants. It has denied abuse allegations and said those without links to militants are quickly released.

Speaking from a hospital bed in Rafah after his release, Khamis al-Burdainy of Gaza City said Israeli forces detained him after tanks and bulldozers partly destroyed his home. He said men were handcuffed and blindfolded.

“We didn’t sleep. We didn’t get food and water,” he said, crying and covering his face.

Jobain reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip, and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel.