Children among dozens killed in Israeli attack on house in northern Gaza Strip | News on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

At least 30 Palestinians, including 13 children, were killed after Israel bombed a building housing displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp, as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned of a “famine” in the country after more than a year Northern Gaza Strip warned of month of bombardment and military siege.

The bombing of the Alloush family home, which was full of residents and displaced people, resulted in the “complete destruction” of the building, the Wafa news agency reported on Sunday. The wounded would be taken to Baptist Hospital, it said.

Witnesses said the multi-story building was destroyed in the attack and many were still trapped under the rubble.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the attack took place around 6 a.m. local time on Sunday.

“According to an eyewitness, it was fairly quiet apart from the hum of drones, quadcopters and fighter jets maneuvering in the area. Suddenly and without warning the house was bombed,” he said.

According to media reports, five more people were killed in another Israeli attack on a house in the Sabra district of Gaza City.

Since October 6, the Israeli military has carried out a devastating air and ground attack on areas of the northern Gaza Strip, including Jabalia, saying it is targeting Hamas militants.

Human rights organizations and activists say the vast majority of victims are women and children. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday that women and children accounted for nearly 70 percent of the thousands of deaths it was able to verify.

“Civilians in Gaza have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial ‘full siege’ of Gaza by Israeli forces,” the OHCHR said.

“The conduct of the Israeli Defense Forces has resulted in unprecedented levels of killings, deaths, injuries, starvation and disease.”

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, on Saturday again accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon in the war against the Palestinian enclave.

“There is likely to be a famine in the north of the Gaza Strip,” he said in a post on X.