Israeli airstrike kills 70 at refugee camp in Gaza: Health ministry

An Israeli airstrike on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza has killed at least 70 people, a spokesman for the health ministry in the enclave said Sunday.

Ashraf al-Qudra said what was happening at the Maghazi camp was a "massacre" that was committed on a crowded residential block.

He added that the death toll is likely to climb, given the large number of families residing there.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,424 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,036 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.