Nine killed in Israeli attack in northern Gaza, officials say, in deadliest strike since ceasefire began

By Ibrahim Dahman and Billy Stockwell, CNN

(CNN) — At least nine people have been killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry said, making it the deadliest incident since a ceasefire went into effect in January.

A British-based charity say almost all of those killed were aid workers, in what Hamas called a “blatant violation” of the truce.

The Israeli military said the strike had killed six “terrorists” who were operating and then attempted to retrieve a drone. Among them were a person involved in the Hamas-led October 7 attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

A team of eight charity workers were killed in the strike, according to UK-registered NGO Al-Khair Foundation. In a statement on Facebook, the charity’s founder Qasim Rashid Ahmad said it was a “very sad day” for the foundation and for aid workers around the world.

“Today sadly another attack has taken place on aid workers while delivering aid,” he said. Some of the victims “were our team members, including volunteers, some of them were cameramen… and some of them were journalists.”

He added that the aid workers had been carrying out humanitarian work when they came under attack, denying the allegation they were involved in terror.

Hamas accused the Israeli military in a statement of committing “a horrific massacre in Beit Lahia, claiming the lives of nine martyrs working for a charity engaged in humanitarian efforts at shelters and displacement centers.”

“The targeting of unarmed civilians, especially those providing humanitarian aid to displaced and homeless individuals, constitutes a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law,” Ismail Thawabta, Director General of Hamas’ Government Media Office, added.

The IDF said Saturday that six “terrorists” had been killed in the area of Beit Lahia as they were “operating a drone that posed a threat to IDF troops.”

“A number of terrorists were eliminated in the strike, including terrorists who operated under the cover of journalists,” it said in a statement.

One eyewitness, Mahmoud Louay Atiya, told CNN he had to put out a fire caused by the strike using bottles of water.

“I helped two people – one I pulled out was already dead, and the other was injured but still alive. I managed to take out multiple bodies. There were no ambulances or fire trucks,” he said.

Another man said that his 17-year-old son was killed in the attack, despite not being affiliated “with the resistance or Hamas.”

“He was working in one of the camps, and they told me he had been killed. I don’t know exactly how it happened,” he told CNN.

Israeli military operations inside Gaza have continued since the ceasefire began – in response, the IDF has said, to threats to its troops or Hamas violations, but there has been a decline in casualties.

Saturday’s deadly strike comes shortly after the United States put forward a new proposal that would secure the release of a handful of living hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a month-long extension of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Under the US proposal, Israel would also lift its blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been ongoing for nearly two weeks, a source familiar with the negotiations said.

Hamas said Friday it had responded to a proposal to extend the ceasefire, “which included its approval” to release American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and the bodies of four dual nationals held hostage in Gaza.

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, Lauren Izso and Dana Karni contributed to this report.

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