Kamal Adwan hospital overwhelmed after Israel's latest massacre in Beit Lahia

In a new massacre on Tuesday, the Israeli army killed at least 93 Palestinians, including 17 children under the age of 12, and wounded tens of others after levelling a residential building housing more than 200 displaced people in the town of Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza.

Speaking to The New Arab, eyewitnesses say that the Israeli army targeted a five-story residential building belonging to the Abu Nasr family in the town of Beit Lahia, in which more than 200 people live, and completely destroyed it.

"Amid the absence of the teams of medical and civil defence in the territory, we were forced to pull out the dead from under the rubble, while dozens are still trapped under the building," said one resident in the area.

"We are seeing the bodies and remains of the dead, and we cannot count those who are still alive. We are still searching for the victims, while we cannot even transfer them to the hospitals, as the Israeli quadcopter drones target us," said another eyewitness. 

For more than three weeks, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale military operation in the north of the coastal enclave. During the military operation, the Israeli army stormed Kamal Adwan hospital, the only hospital in Beit Lahia, arresting most of its medical personnel and left only two doctors to continue work.

As a result of the Israel's actions against the hospital, it has become de facto out of service.

"Out of the total number of causalities, only 45 Palestinians, including 10 bodies were transferred to the hospital by the locals, while the rest of deaths lying in the streets without even having any official teams to pull them out," Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan, remarked to TNA.

"The scene is catastrophic. There are no ambulances in northern Gaza to transport the victims, and there is no health system capable of dealing with this large number of victims," he said.

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach the targeted house due to the Israeli targeting of everything moving in the area," he added, noting that the death toll is likely to rise due to the inability of any medical crews or civil defence to reach the site.

Inside Kamal Adwan hospital, there are only two doctors, including Abu Safiya. "The nature of the injuries is very frightening, and we do not know how to deal with broken bones cases. There are cases that need amputations and there are cases that need surgery, and we do not have any medical components to provide surgeries," he said.

"What is happening is truly a genocide. Our region has become a disaster area, and the world must act to stop this Israeli crime. We appeal to the world to open the door for medical teams to enter the hospital to save the wounded," he urged.

The Israeli army continues its concentrated bombardment of the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, especially in the towns of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, while tens of thousands of families are still trapped in the area.

The new Israeli crime occurs in conjunction with attempts to resume indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire.