19 October 2024 Beit Lahia attacks

{{Short description|2024 civilian strikes in Northern Gaza Strip}}

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Beit Lahia attacks

| location = Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip, Palestine

| date = 19 October 2024

| partof = the siege of North Gaza in the Gaza war

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| map = {{location map

| Israel gaza

| lat_deg = 31.55

| lon_deg = 34.5

| label = Beit Lahia

| label_size = 100

| caption =

| border = none

| float = center

}}

| map_size =

| map_caption = Location within the Gaza Strip

| native_name =

| coordinates =

| timezone =

| type = Airstrikes, artillery, massacre

| fatalities = 92+ Palestinians (mostly women and children){{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/29/israel-pounds-north-gaza-lebanons-east-killing-over-100-people | title=Israeli strikes reportedly kill more than 150 in northern Gaza and Lebanon }}

| injuries = 100+ Palestinians

| perpetrator = {{military|Israel}}

}}

On 19 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces conducted attacks on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, killing at least 92 Palestinians and injuring more than 100, with many more missing believed to be trapped under the rubble.{{Cite news |date=20 October 2024 |title=80 Killed, More than 100 Injured in New Israeli Massacre in Beit Lahia |url=https://iranpress.com/73-killed-in-news-israeli-massacre-in-beit-lahia-north-of-gaza |access-date=20 October 2024 |publisher=Iran Press |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |title=At least 87 killed in strike on northern Gaza, local officials say, as Israel continues attacks on Beirut |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cx2k377zkqyt?post=asset:ffb019e3-2137-4337-8841-24a88c53d154#post |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

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 against what they alleged to be Hamas militants.{{Cite news |last=Sabbagh |first=Dan |date=2023-12-03 |title=Israel says its ground forces are operating across 'all of Gaza' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/03/fresh-strike-on-jabaliya-refugee-camp-reported-as-israel-intensifies-attacks-on-gaza |access-date=2024-01-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |oclc=60623878 |archive-date=2023-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220030136/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/03/fresh-strike-on-jabaliya-refugee-camp-reported-as-israel-intensifies-attacks-on-gaza |url-status=live }} On 12 December, Israel raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital.{{cite web |last1=Tétrault-Farber |first1=Gabrielle |title=WHO calls for Gaza hospital to be protected after reported raid |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/who-calls-gaza-hospital-be-protected-after-reported-raid-2023-12-12/ |access-date=12 December 2023 |website=Reuters |archive-date=2023-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227224032/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/who-calls-gaza-hospital-be-protected-after-reported-raid-2023-12-12/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Israeli forces raid Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital after days of strikes |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/12/israeli-forces-raid-gazas-kamal-adwan-hospital-after-days-of-strikes |access-date=12 December 2023 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=31 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231191948/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/12/israeli-forces-raid-gazas-kamal-adwan-hospital-after-days-of-strikes |url-status=live }} On 16 December, Israeli bulldozers crushed people sheltering outside the hospital.{{cite web |date=18 December 2023 |title=Gaza hospital destroyed, WHO chief reiterates ceasefire call |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144887 |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=UN News |publisher=United Nations |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227231531/https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144887/ |url-status=live }} One reporter described "a terrifying massacre and unspeakable scenes" and stating, "Dozens of displaced, sick and wounded people were buried alive".{{cite web |date=16 December 2023 |title=Israeli bulldozers crush sick, wounded Palestinians outside Gaza hospital |url=https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/12/2023/live-updates-enough-is-enough-anger-after-israel-kills-al-jazeera-journalist |access-date=16 December 2023 |website=The Peninsula Qatar |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105025504/https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/12/2023/live-updates-enough-is-enough-anger-after-israel-kills-al-jazeera-journalist |url-status=live }}

In April 2024, Israel withdrew from all territories in the Gaza Strip except for the Netzarim Corridor. The second Israeli invasion of northern Gaza in May 2024 came after Hamas regrouping in some areas there.{{Cite web |title=IDF withdraws all troops from southern Gaza |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/04/07/idf-withdraws-all-troops-from-southern-gaza/ |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=Israel Hayom|archive-date=2024-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411102515/https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/04/07/idf-withdraws-all-troops-from-southern-gaza/ |url-status=live }} By June 2024, Gaza's Civil Defence stated the destruction in Beit Lahia "defie[d] imagination".{{cite web |title=Level of destruction in Beit Lahiya 'defies imagination': Gaza's Civil Defense |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lqwrwHOWR8 |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=YouTube | date=26 June 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706150917/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lqwrwHOWR8 |url-status=live }}

Earlier in the month, Israel had issued evacuation orders telling residents of northern Gaza to move south.{{cite web |last1=Rémy |first1=Jean-Philippe |title=Israel orders new evacuations in northern Gaza |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/09/israel-orders-new-evacuations-in-northern-gaza_6728770_4.html |website=Le Monde |access-date=22 October 2024|date=9 October 2024}} One survivor described those earlier evacuation orders by stating Israel had "directed people to go to Beit Lahia and bombed them there."{{cite web |last1=Salman |first1=Abeer |last2=Dahman |first2=Ibrahim |last3=Lister |first3=Tim |title=At least 87 killed in Israeli strike on northern Gaza, health ministry says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/20/middleeast/gaza-israel-beit-lahia-deadly-strike-intl/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=22 October 2024|date=20 October 2024}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Pietromarchi |first=Virginia |title=At least 73 killed in Israeli attack on Beit Lahiya: Gaza media office |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/19/live-israeli-attack-kills-at-least-33-in-north-gazas-jabalia-refugee-camp |access-date=2024-10-19 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

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. Gaza's civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal reported that the entire targeted residential block had been “leveled to the ground”.{{Cite news |last1=Loveluck |first1=Louisa |last2=Mahfouz |first2=Heba Farouk |last3=Balousha |first3=Hazem |last4=Harb |first4=Hajar |date=19 October 2024 |title=Israeli strike kills at least 73 people in northern Gaza, medics say |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/19/israel-strike-beit-lahia-northern-gaza/ |access-date=19 October 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

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. According to a reporter on the ground, 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 Siege of Jabalia.{{cite web |title=Dozens killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/20/dozens-killed-in-israeli-strike-in-northern-gazas-beit-lahiya |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 October 2024}} The majority of victims were reportedly children, the elderly, and women.{{cite web |last1=Mahmoud |first1=Hani |title=Israeli air strike on Beit Lahiya hit area where people live 'back-to-back' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/20/live-dozens-killed-in-israeli-attack-on-beit-lahiya-in-north-of-gaza?update=3259694 |website=Al Jazeera English |access-date=23 October 2024}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Al-Mughrabi |first=Nidal |date=19 October 2024 |title=Israeli strikes in northern Gaza cause scores of casualties, doctors say |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-kill-32-gaza-siege-around-hospitals-tightens-health-officials-2024-10-19/ |access-date=19 October 2024 |work=Reuters}}

Reactions

The Israel Defense Forces alleged 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 claimed was meant to be a precise strike against a Hamas target. The IDF further justified their course of action by calling the targeted area part of an "active war zone".

The Hamas government media office called the attack a "horrifying massacre"{{Cite web |title='Horrifying massacre': Israeli attack on Beit Lahiya kills at least 73 Palestinians |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-strikes-beit-lahiya-kills-palestinians |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}} that was part of a "war of genocide and ethnic cleansing". 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.

Egypt condemned the attack, stating, "There is no moral or military justification for the significant loss of life among Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children".{{cite web |title=Egypt condemns Israeli massacre of Gazans in Beit Lahia |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/135502/Egypt-condemns-Israeli-massacre-of-Gazans-in-Beit-Lahia |website=Egypt Today |date=20 October 2024 |access-date=23 October 2024}} Qatar News Agency, the state-run media agency of Qatar, stated the Israeli army had "intensified the crimes of ethnic cleansing, and perpetrated grisly massacres that claimed the lives of dozens of civilians".{{cite web |title=73 Palestinians Martyred Following Israeli Massacre in Beit Lahia in Northern Gaza Strip |url=https://www.qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2024-10/19/0042-73-palestinians-martyred-following-israeli-massacre-in%C2%A0beit-lahia-in-northern-gaza-strip |website=Qatar News Agency |access-date=23 October 2024}}

Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, stated, "Horrifying scenes are unfolding in northern Gaza. The nightmare in Gaza is intensifying. I condemn the continuing attacks on civilians. This war must end, the hostages held by Hamas must be freed, the displacement of Palestinians must cease."{{cite web |last1=England |first1=Andrew |last2=Jalabi |first2=Raya |title=Israeli air strikes kill dozens in northern Gaza, health officials say |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5dd79081-9a73-449e-8bad-7a85674014e2?shareType=nongift |website=Financial Times |date=20 October 2024 |access-date=22 October 2024|url-access=subscription}} In a statement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation stated it viewed "this atrocity as a continuation of the many massacres, acts of genocide, and ethnic cleansing perpetrated against the Palestinian people in flagrant violation of international values, conventions, United Nations resolutions, and relevant orders issued by the International Court of Justice."{{cite web |title=OIC Condemns Israeli Occupation's Heinous Massacre in Beit Lahia in Northern Gaza |url=https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2192158 |website=Saudi Press Agency |publisher=Government of Saudi Arabia |access-date=23 October 2024}}

Analysis

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.