Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the attack because Hamas rejected proposals to extend the ceasefire. Netanyahu urged Gazans to move to safe areas and blamed Hamas for any civilian casualties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO / gov.li
"From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with ever greater force. And from now on, negotiations will only take place under fire," he said from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv. "Hamas has felt our power in the last 24 hours. And I want to assure you: This is just the beginning."
Airstrikes hit homes and tent camps from the northern to southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said an Israeli plane fired a rocket into Gaza City on Tuesday night. Israeli tanks also fired from across the border, witnesses said. Palestinian health authorities said 408 people were killed, one of the highest single-day tolls since the war began.
“It was a hellish night. It felt like the early days of the war,” said Rabiha Jamal, 65, a mother of five from Gaza City.
Families in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, and eastern Khan Younis, in the south, were forced to flee their homes, some on foot, others in cars or rickshaws, carrying their belongings, after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of areas deemed “dangerous combat zones”.
Egypt and Qatar, brokers of the ceasefire along with the US, condemned the Israeli attack, while the European Union (EU) expressed regret at the collapse of the truce. UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said the “small gains” made during the truce had been destroyed.
Israel has stopped sending aid to Gaza for more than two weeks, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Cao Phong (according to AJ, Reuters, CNN)
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