More than 100 people at the Maghazi refugee camp have been killed in an Israeli attack, with Palestinian authorities reporting 250 casualties in a series of strikes over 24 hours.
A funeral held on Monday mourned the victims, predominantly women and children, with Palestinians lining up to pay their respects by touching the shrouded bodies. The figure has now surpassed 100, reports Al Jazeera.
The Government Media Office in Gaza revealed that seven families were entirely wiped out in the assault on a residential square within the camp.
On Christmas night in Gaza, one of the most intense bombardments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas unfolded, leading to the destruction of buildings and trapping families under piles of rubble.
Israeli strikes also killed scores of people in areas such as Khan Younis, Bureij and Nuseirat. About 500 people have been injured by Israeli strikes over the past day.
The death toll in the Maghazi strike had risen to 106, reports Al Jazeera.
In Christmas remarks on Monday, Pope Francis said children being killed in wars, including those in Gaza, are “little Jesuses of today” and Israel’s assault has reaped an “appalling harvest” of innocent civilians.
More than 20,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli bombardment of Gaza since October 7.
The city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, where the Bible says Jesus Christ was born, has cancelled the Christmas celebrations due to the war and violence.