The United States is concerned about the number of people killed in an Israeli attack on a residential building in northern Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday, describing the attack as a "horrific incident with a horrific outcome."

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said at least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing and dozens were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.

Miller, responding to questions from reporters at his daily briefing, said that US officials had contacted the Israeli government to find out what had happened, adding that he could not speak about the total number of dead, but he was aware of reports that many of them were children.

On Tuesday morning, an Israeli bombardment of a residential building in the Beit Lahia project in the northern Gaza Strip resulted in the killing of 93 people and the disappearance of 40 others whose fate is unknown.

Local sources had previously reported that more than 17 children were among the dead. Residents in the area reported that the targeted building contained "more than 100 displaced people", appealing for help for those trapped under the rubble.

In response to a question from the Jerusalem correspondent about how the US State Department classifies what is happening in Gaza, “because it is not really a war, but a slaughter and a massacre” by the simplest standards, Miller said, “The horrific consequences of this war are exactly why we are trying to end it. What I just went through – and I would add to that the suffering that Israel is experiencing, the suffering of the hostages and their families.”

"So we are trying to end the war, for all these reasons, in a way that ensures peace and security for the Israelis and the Palestinians in the future," he added.

According to eyewitnesses, the explosion occurred at night, before sunrise, and bodies, limbs and injured people were scattered from under the rubble.

Miller did not reveal any immediate measures against Israel, but he reiterated the US call for a negotiated end to the war in Gaza.

He considered that the "tragic cost to civilians" in the latest strike "is another reminder of why we need to end this war."

Miller continued, "It has been a year since the Israeli government launched a military campaign in Gaza, and it has succeeded in undermining Hamas's military capabilities and undermining its leadership, and Israel has succeeded in ensuring that Hamas will not be able to repeat the attacks of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war."

Regarding the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) despite calls from Western countries to refrain from doing so, Miller said: “Let me begin by emphasizing that we are deeply concerned about this legislation. It could lead to the closure of UNRWA operations in the West Bank, in Gaza, and in East Jerusalem,” stressing that “this poses risks to millions of Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including health care and primary and secondary education. UNRWA, of course, plays a critical role in providing services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and throughout the wider region. Especially in Gaza, UNRWA is playing a role that no one else can do, at least today. It is a key partner in delivering food, water, and other humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza who would have no one to get it from if UNRWA disappeared.”

So we have made clear our concerns about this law. We have made clear our opposition to this law. And as the Secretary said in his letter and as I emphasized yesterday, there may be consequences under U.S. law and U.S. policy for implementing this legislation. And we will be working with the Government of Israel in the coming days on how they plan to implement it. We will be watching and seeing if there are legal challenges to the law and if there is any impact from those legal challenges, and then we will make our decisions after considering all of those factors.

But Miller did not answer reporters' questions about the steps the US administration would take if Israel persisted in its intransigence and targeted the agency.