Israel-Gaza newest: Ceasefire shattered as 413 Palestinians killed in new airstrikes, Hamas says
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 413 Palestinians across Gaza in the deadliest wave of attacks since a ceasefire deal was reached in January, according to health officials in the Hamas-run Strip.
Densely populated areas including residential buildings and makeshift schools were targeted in the overnight strikes, which were concentrated on Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis. The Israeli military said its offensive will “expand beyond air strikes”.
Health officials in Gaza said that women and children make up a large number of the dead, with a UNICEF worker saying the organisation has seen “several dozen” dead children.
Evacuation orders have been issued for thousands of Palestinians around the strip’s border, as Israel appears to prepare to resume its ground invasion of the ravaged enclave.
The White House confirmed it was consulted before the attack and blamed Hamas, who it said “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an extension of the ceasefire deal reached on 19 January. Israel will act with “increasing military strength”, Netanyahu’s office said.
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said Israel’s strikes will “sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them”.
Mapped: Israeli evacuation orders and strike sites in Gaza
School classes suspended after Israeli strikes
School classes have again been suspended in dozens of schools which had reopened in Gaza, the strip’s education authorities have said.
The decision came after Israel ramped up its air strikes on Gaza overnight.
The ministry said it had resumed classes in around 70 schools in recent weeks.
Death toll rises to 413 after Israeli strikes on Gaza
The death toll following Israel’s resumed strikes on Gaza has risen to 413, Gaza health officials have said.
Women and children are among the dead, officials added.
Hundreds of people are injured, an official earlier told The Independent, adding that the strip has very little resources to deal with the damage and casualties.
Mohammed Zaqut, the head of Gaza’s health ministry, said on Tuesday morning that “dozens” of the injured remained in a critical condition – adding that most of the dead were women and children.
A UNICEF worker earlier also reported seeing dozens of children are among the dead.
Is the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over?
Unless mediators step in, Israel’s surprise attack could mean a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, said he ordered the strikes because of Hamas’ rejection of the new proposal. He said Israel “will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire agreement and exposing the remaining hostages ”to an unknown fate.” In a statement, it called on mediators to hold Israel “fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement.”
The attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on January 19, but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorised areas, engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truce.
Israel settlement expansion ‘amounts to war crime’, says UN human rights chief
Israel has significantly expanded its settlements in the West Bank in what “amounts to a war crime”, the UN’s human rights chief has said.
The steady integration of West Bank settlements into the State of Israel is widely considered a breach of international law by countries outside Israel.
“The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime,” UN high commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement, accompanying a report by the organisation’s human rights office.
The report urges the international community to take meaningful action against the expansion of the settlements.
“Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers,” Mr Turk said.
Israel disengaged from the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year, alleging a chronic anti-Israeli bias. Its military says it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and targeting suspected militants.
UN rights chief ‘horrified’ by Israeli strikes
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has condemned Israel’s resumed strikes, saying it will only “heap further ministry” on the Palestinian people.
“I am horrified by last night’s Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy,” Mr Turk, the human rights high commissioner, said in a statement.
“Israel’s resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions.”
Half of the dead are children, health official tells The Independent
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Dr. Muhammad Abuafash, director of Palestinian Medical Relief in North Gaza who had been in al-Ahly hospital in Gaza city Tuesday morning, said emergency workers were still pulling the wounded and the dead out from under the rubble.
He told The Independent that so far, half of the dead were children, and most of the injuries were among minors.
“We’re talking about large numbers of children with severed limbs,” he added saying that there were so wounded that medics couldn’t even prioritise who to treat.
“There are not enough medical facilities and supplies, nor are there enough medical personnel. They deal with injuries without preference, unfortunately. Large numbers of wounded people are just lying on the ground,” he said.
“My message to the international community: How long will Israel remain above international law and human rights, destroying trees and stones, and killing children and women?”
Meanwhile, families in the heavily hit north of Gaza—who had only recently returned to their bombed-out homes since the start of the ceasefire—said they had packed their bags, ready to flee south again.
The Israeli military issued “evacuation” orders again on Tuesday, urging civilians in areas including Beit Hanoun to move west or south.
“The gunfire and bullets are heavy. We can hear the sound of tanks clearly,” said one resident.
Hamas: Talks with negotiators are ongoing
Hamas has said that communication with mediators and negotiators is ongoing, as Israel scales up its attacks on the Gaza strip.
The Palestinian militant group says it is keen to implement the next phase of the ceasefire deal, which has stalled after the two sides failed to agree an extension to the truce agreed in January.
Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by influx of wounded after aid blockages
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
In heavily hit areas of North Gaza, Palestinian medical officials described the situation as a “nightmare”.
Doctors struggled to treat a massive influx of the wounded, with supplies low after Israel prevented all aid from entering the besieged strip from March 9 and cut the remaining electricity supplies.
Dr Yosef Abureesh, from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told The Independent that hospitals were unable to handle the sudden influx of wounded as there had been no time to rebuild the healthcare system and there was a desperate lack of skilled medical personnel.
He said that even during the ceasefire, before the latest blockade on aid, vital items like electrical generators, including spare parts, were not permitted to enter Gaza because they were labeled as “dual-use” and banned.
“Actually, they are putting everything on the dual-use list, including medicines,” he said.
“The destruction of the health system has made things even more difficult,” he continued, citing Gaza’s main hospital, Al-Shifa, which used to have a capacity of 700 beds with more than 24 operating rooms.
“Now it is almost completely destroyed. Medics are working in a very small area just for stabilisation. We were unable to renovate or rehabilitate the health system after the huge attacks,” he added.
“We lack expert doctors. Many have been detained, killed, or injured, and we have a very limited capacity of skilled personnel, unlike before,” he said.
Death toll rises to 350 after Israeli strikes on Gaza
The death toll of Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight has now exceeded 350, a Palestinian health ministry official has told The Independent.
Hundreds of people are injured, the official said, adding that the strip has very little resources to deal with the damage and casualties.
Mohammed Zaqut, the head of Gaza’s health ministry, earlier said that “dozens” of the injured remained in a critical condition, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
A UNICEF worker earlier also reported seeing dozens of children are among the dead.
Source: independent.co.uk
