At least 40 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured in the eastern neighborhood, medics said Sunday. The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are uncovered.

Medical sources said seven Palestinians were killed in other areas across the coastal enclave.

Spokesman of the Palestinian ministry of health Ashraf al-Qidra said rescue teams evacuated at least 40 dead bodies from destroyed houses. More than 200 injured people were taken to al-Shifa Hospital.

Among the victims was photojournalist Khalid Hamid and paramedic Fuad Jabir.

Dozens of victims in Shujaiyya haven't been identified.

Palestinian medical sources in al-Shifa Hospital told Ma’an that the hospital was unable to cope with the large numbers of residents who fled their homes in Shujaiyya “under fire” to the hospital for shelter.

In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said three Palestinians were killed Sunday morning.

In addition, an Israeli airstrike on the house of the Muammar family killed three brothers. Ten others were injured in the attack.

Also in Rafah, a Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli raid which injured five others.

NTJ/HH