AT least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, as Israel resumed its bombing campaign and ground operations in the enclave, according to Reuters.
A Gaza health official confirmed the figures, stating that Israeli strikes targeted multiple houses in both the northern and southern regions of the Gaza Strip.
However, when asked for comment, the Israeli military said it was investigating the claims.
The Israeli military resumed airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday and launched ground offensives on Wednesday, effectively ending a ceasefire that had been in place since January.
On Thursday, the military said that its forces had been conducting a targeted ground operation over the past 24 hours to expand the Netzarim corridor, a buffer zone separating Gaza’s northern and southern regions.
The military also instructed residents to avoid Salahuddin Road, the main north-south route and advised them to use the coastal road instead.
According to the spokesperson for the territory’s health ministry, Khalil Al-Deqran, Tuesday’s airstrikes claimed the lives of over 400 Palestinians, and in the past three days, at least 510 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them women and children.
In a statement, the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, condemned the bombardments and Israeli incursion into the Netzarim Corridor, calling it a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement.
Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and urged mediators to “fulfil their responsibilities.”
The initial phase of the ceasefire ended at the beginning of this month but Hamas seeks to advance to a negotiated second phase, which would require Israel to discuss ending the war and withdrawing its troops, while Israeli hostages in Gaza would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
However, Israel has only proposed a temporary extension of the truce, halted all supplies to Gaza, and announced the resumption of its military campaign to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages.
The ICIR reported that Trump issued what he described as a “final warning” to Hamas on March 5, demanding the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza.
Trump vowed that he would provide Israel with “everything it needs to finish the job,” warning that “not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”
After holding secret talks with Hamas last week, Trump on March 14, accused the group of making “entirely impractical” demands and delaying a deal to release a US-Israeli hostage in exchange for extending the Gaza ceasefire.
“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not,” the office of Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the US National Security Council said in a statement.
“Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes,” it said, adding that Trump had already vowed Hamas would “pay a severe price” for not freeing hostages.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.