IDF probing Hamas claims of dozens of deaths after recent strike in Gaza

The Hamas-affiliated Health Ministry said dozens of Palestinians had been killed or wounded by an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. Hamas’s media office said as many as 72 people had been killed.

According to the IDF, the air strikes were carried out against terrorist targets.

“We emphasize that there have been continued recent efforts to evacuate the civilian population from this active war zone, along with efforts to expand the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” the IDF said.

IDF says to be cautious

The IDF cautioned media outlets reporting on the incident to be wary of being fooled into spreading lies on behalf of Hamas.

The IDF “is operating in a precise manner and is undertaking significant efforts to avoid causing harm to civilians,” it said.

Nevertheless, an IDF spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post a probe was ongoing, meaning it was also possible that this was one of a minority number of cases in which the military miscalculated and could have killed more civilians than it thought were present in a certain location or could have misfired.

At the same time, given that the IDF was not sharing more details, the most likely scenario is that little new information will be made public in the weeks or months ahead, at least until the distant future when many more of such incidents are fully reported on.