Death toll in Israeli airstrike on N. Gaza residential area rises to 87

GAZA -- The Palestinian death toll in an Israeli airstrike on a residential area in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening has risen to 87, the Hamas-run Gaza health authorities said on Sunday.

The airstrike also caused more than 40 injuries, including critical cases, the authorities said in a press statement.

Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli raids in the region resulted in the destruction of an entire residential area.

On Saturday night, the media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government reported an initial estimate of 73 fatalities, with numerous others wounded or missing, the majority of whom were women and children.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Sunday in a press statement after the attack that the number published from the media office was "exaggerated" and did not match the information provided by the Israeli army, noting that the army was still "investigating" the incident.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that IDF troops continue operations in the northern, southern, and central parts of the Gaza Strip, noting that over the past day, the Israeli Air Force struck about 175 targets in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 42,603, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday.