Israel widened its ground assault in Gaza after a ceasefire collapsed, causing hundreds to be killed. On Thursday, airstrikes killed at least 70 Palestinians and many more were injured, with Israeli troops bombing homes throughout northern and southern Gaza. Almost five of Hamas’s top leaders were said to have been killed as Israel widened its campaign against the Islamist movement with a view to destroying key infrastructure.
Ever since the ceasefire fell through, Israeli land forces have moved back into the fray, specifically attacking the Netzarim Corridor, one of Gaza’s most important sectors. The target of the army is to put up a part buffer zone across northern and southern Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas denounced these moves as a violation of the ceasefire agreement, urging negotiators to intervene.
The Israeli military also made clear it no longer will allow Palestinians to make trips between Gaza’s south and its north, re-imposing a blockade established before January’s ceasefire. The primary north-south highway across Gaza is off-limits, with the sole permission of motion toward the south on Gaza’s coast road.
The war, which started following a fatal Hamas attack on Israeli settlements in October 2023, has claimed more than 49,000 Palestinian lives, Gaza’s health officials report, leaving most of the territory in ruins.
