More than 400 people, including children, died on Tuesday as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza, Palestinian health authorities said. The attacks had dozens of targets in different areas, including Gaza, Rafah, Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, IPN reports.
According to Reuters, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had told the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in response to the group's refusal to release the remaining hostages and because of their rejection of ceasefire proposals.
"From today onwards, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing force," the Israeli government warned.
After the heavy strikes, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders in several neighborhoods in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas has accused Israel of canceling the ceasefire agreement, leaving the fate of 59 Gaza hostages uncertain.
The attacks were far wider in scale than the regular drone strikes Israel has said it has conducted recently against suspected militants, and follow weeks of failed efforts to agree an extension to the truce agreed on January 19.
Witnesses in Gaza contacted by Reuters said Israeli tanks shelled areas in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing many families who had returned after the ceasefire to leave their homes again and head north to Khan Younis.
Much of Gaza now lies in ruins after the war, which erupted on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.
The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system.
Photo source: www.npr.org
