At least 70 people have been confirmed dead in a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip following a nearby Israeli airstrike, Doctors Without Borders has said.

Dozens of patients, including children and adolescents, had to be treated for severe burns at the Nasser Medical Complex, the organisation said late Sunday, citing its staff at the hospital.

The strike in the city of Khan Younis took place one kilometre away from the hospital, the group said. A total of 122 patients arrived at the hospital in the immediate aftermath. “The hospital is overflowing,’’ Doctors Without Borders said.

By midday Sunday, the hospital had reported that nearly 50 people had died. A photographer told dpa that there were rows of body bags.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the reports.

Israel has for weeks been demanding that Palestinian civilians flee from the heavily contested north of the territory to the south, saying it will be safer for them there.

But Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Saturday that the attacks in the Gaza Strip would soon be extended southward.

According to UN figures, around 20,000 people fled south on Sunday alone.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Monday that the number was based on estimates by UN observers on the ground.

Most of the people travelled in donkey carts and buses, and some on foot. More than 1.7 million people are now internally displaced or about three-quarters of Gaza’s population.

(dpa/NAN)