78 killed in one of Gaza's deadliest strikes

GAZA/JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 78 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday, in one of the besieged enclave's deadliest nights of the 11-week-old conflict.

Strikes that began hours before midnight continued into Monday. Residents and Palestinian media said Israel stepped up air and ground shelling in Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

At least 70 Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, reported the state-run Palestine TV.

Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza-based Health Ministry, said in a statement that the death toll is likely to rise as the airstrike hit a crowded residential area. He added that Israeli forces are bombing the central region's main roads between camps, which obstruct ambulances and civil vehicles from reaching targeted locations.

Al-Maghazi was one of the places the Israeli military had previously told the Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate to, yet the camp has been "completely flattened," according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli army said it was reviewing the report on the al-Maghazi camp and was committed to minimizing harm to civilians. Hamas denies the Israeli charge that it operates in densely populated areas or uses civilians as human shields.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society published footage of wounded residents being transported to hospitals. It said Israeli warplanes were bombing main roads, hindering the passage of ambulances and emergency vehicles.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed eight Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that "the war is exacting a very heavy cost from us. However, we have no choice (but) to continue to fight."

He said in a video message that troops would fight deeper into Gaza until "total victory" over Hamas.

Israel has been under pressure from its closest ally the United States to shift operations to a lower-intensity phase and reduce civilian deaths.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China will continue to work with all parties to enhance coordination and galvanize more responsible and meaningful actions in the UN Security Council for an early cessation of hostilities in Gaza, the implementation of the two-state solution and peace and stability in the Middle East.

Mao made the remarks when asked to comment on Resolution 2720, which was passed by the UN Security Council with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions last Friday, calling for urgent action to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.

Mao said that China voted in favor of Resolution 2720, which is the second resolution adopted by the Security Council since the start of the Palestine-Israel conflict. She also added that the resolution does not quite come up to international expectations and has certain gaps that needed to be filled.

The tally by the Gaza-based Health Ministry showed on Sunday that the Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks has reached 20,424, and 54,036 others wounded since the conflict broke out.

A total of 15 Israeli soldiers were confirmed killed in Gaza over the past weekend, said the Israeli army, bringing to 154 the total number of slain Israeli soldiers during its ground offensive in Gaza. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack on Oct 7.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it led missions to barely functioning hospitals in northern Gaza at the weekend.

The agency and its partners delivered aid, including fuel, to the devastated al-Shifa hospital, once Gaza's biggest and most advanced medical facility, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said late Sunday on X, formerly Twitter.

What the participants in the Saturday mission witnessed was "rising desperation due to acute hunger", Tedros said.

Agencies - Xinhua