Saturday was the deadliest day in Gaza since mid-December, with 283 people killed., The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Sunday. That brings the total death toll according to the ministry during the current war in Gaza to 37,084.
Most of those killed on Saturday were killed when the Israel Defense Forces mounted a surprise operation to rescue four Israeli hostages in Nuseirat, central Gaza.
The raid left 274 Palestinians dead and 698 wounded, Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday. The IDF has disputed those figures, saying it estimated the number of casualties from the operation was “less than 100.”
The Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilian victims and Hamas fighters. CNN cannot independently verify the ministry's casualty figures due to a lack of international media access to Gaza.
Palestinian civilians described “hell on earth” in central Gaza during the Israeli operation, and a CNN video showed people carrying bloodied children to crowded emergency rooms after the attack.
Another nine people were killed and 116 injured in other parts of the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.
It was the deadliest day in Gaza since December 10, when nearly 300 people died, according to Health Ministry records.
United States Response: The U.S. administration, which helped with intelligence gathering for the operation, acknowledged Sunday that civilians were killed in the attack.
“Innocent people were tragically killed in this operation,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday, adding that it is “heartbreaking” and that “ “We don't know the exact number.”
In response to Hamas' claim that other hostages were killed during the mission (for which it has yet to provide evidence), Sullivan said: “We have not seen that verified or confirmed. I think the Israelis have said that they don't have any information about it. But of course, that is always a risk.”
