Israeli strikes have killed at least 58 people in Gaza overnight, local hospitals say
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Gaza and the wider crisis in the Middle East.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 58 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, according to three hospitals.
The Associated Press reports the strikes hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept.
Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire that had halted the war and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected a new proposal that departed from their signed agreement.
More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
These latest strikes come a day after Israeli ground troops advanced in Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire took hold in January, seizing part of a corridor separating the northern third of the territory from the south.
Israel, which has also cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and gives up control of the territory. The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.
We’ll bring you the latest developments throughout the day.
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“Over the past 24 hours, IDF soldiers have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X.
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Adraee added:
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For your safety, movement along Salah al-Din road between the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, in either direction, is prohibited.”
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Hamas said that talks with mediators were ongoing on Thursday to halt the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which resumed two days ago, and to push Israel to abide by the ceasefire deal.
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Hamas reiterated its commitment to the deal that was signed in January, reports Reuters.
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As we briefly mentioned earlier, Israeli forces have launched a “limited ground operation” to retake the Netzarim corridor, a newly widened road protected by fortified bunkers that divides Gaza and is seen as essential to controlling the devastated Palestinian territory. Jason Burke has this report from Jerusalem:
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The move is a significant escalation of Israel’s new offensive in Gaza and came less than 36 hours after a massive wave of airstrikes that killed more than 400, including 183 children and 94 women, the health ministry there said.
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A series of Israeli evacuation orders telling about 150,000 people in the north and east of Gaza to leave their homes to avoid being trapped in a combat zone suggested ground assaults in coming days, but seizure of the Netzarim corridor is the first major move to retake territory in Gaza since Tuesday’s airstrikes, which shattered a two-month-long pause in the hostilities with Hamas.
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A private security company that had been securing checkpoints in the Netzarim corridor withdrew overnight and Israeli troops in armoured vehicles and tanks and on foot moved in at dawn on Wednesday, according to western aid officials.
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The Israeli forces are believed to have reoccupied four fortified bases there and closed off all access. Travelling from north to south Gaza is now impossible, the officials said.
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Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has said the new offensive will continue until “total victory” is achieved over Hamas and the 59 remaining hostages held by the militant group are freed.
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As part of the ceasefire deal agreed in January, Israel had withdrawn from the Netzarim corridor.
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Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Gaza and the wider crisis in the Middle East.
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Israeli strikes have killed at least 58 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, according to three hospitals.
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The Associated Press reports the strikes hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept.
“,”elementId”:”b362d42f-add3-483c-b295-d917f2178632″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire that had halted the war and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected a new proposal that departed from their signed agreement.
“,”elementId”:”cdda4e9c-4af9-4c4b-8261-0394f18321aa”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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These latest strikes come a day after Israeli ground troops advanced in Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire took hold in January, seizing part of a corridor separating the northern third of the territory from the south.
“,”elementId”:”eb8793b5-be82-4cd4-bcc9-3c211c011140″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Israel, which has also cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and gives up control of the territory. The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.
“,”elementId”:”d05e2ced-ed76-4f8a-8b8f-c20514d5d628″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
We’ll bring you the latest developments throughout the day.
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Key events
The resumption of airstrikes has sent Palestinian residents again fleeing for their lives from homes they had begun to reinhabit among the ruins of the devastated territory.
Some Palestinians who tried to use the Salahuddin road said they saw cars come under fire from Israeli troops advancing towards Netzarim, reports Reuters. The fate of the passengers in the vehicles was unknown.
“Bulldozers protected by some tanks were heading to the west coming from the areas where they are stationed near the fence east of the Salahuddin road,” one taxi driver told Reuters, asking not to be identified for fear of reprisals.
He said it had become clear the Israelis were advancing on Netzarim when Egyptian and foreign inspectors stationed there under the ceasefire abruptly withdrew.
Some residents turned to social media to report the disappearance of some relatives, while others reported cases to the International Committee of the Red Cross, reports Reuters.
Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, a Hamas official said mediators had stepped up their efforts with the two warring sides but added that “no breakthrough has yet been made”.
Hamas has yet to make clear threats to retaliate in response to the Israeli escalation. Asked by Reuters why the group had not yet responded, the Hamas official said it was “giving a chance for things to be contained”.
Some residents said there were no signs yet of preparations by Hamas on the ground to resume fighting. But an official from one militant group allied to Hamas told Reuters on Thursday that fighters, including from Hamas, had been put on high alert awaiting further instructions.
“Fighters and leaders of the resistance were also advised to avoid the use of cellular phones as a means of precaution,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.
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