Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire, shattering the fragile peace in one of the deadliest days since war began – as shocked Palestinians say they ‘see blood everywhere’ from wounded and dead
Israel unleashed “hell” on Gaza yesterday in horror air-strikes, smashing the ceasefire and killing at least 413 Palestinians including women and children.
More than 600 more victims were injured across the Palestinian Strip in a shock attack that sparked widespread condemnation and has been dubbed one of the deadliest of the war. Terrible images of blood-soaked families and corpses of children emerged as Israel declared it was resuming the fighting “Until all hostages are released.” A strike on a Rafah home killed 17 members of one family, including at least 12 women and children, according to Gaza’s European Hospital. The dead included five children, their parents, and another father and his three children.
The attack happened as Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned: “The gates of hell will open in Gaza” if hostages aren’t released. He added: “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals.” In the southern city of Khan Younis, reporters saw explosions and plumes of smoke. Ambulances brought wounded people to Nasser Hospital, where patients lay on the floor, some screaming.
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A young girl cried as her bloody arm was bandaged. One traumatised Palestinian man told al-Jazeera saw locals turning up at hospitals holding their child’s remains. Abu Rizq said: “We woke up frightened, hearing Israeli strikes everywhere in Gaza. If you’re now in one of Gaza’s hospitals, you will see blood everywhere.” He added that he had seen families arriving at hospital with the “remains of their children” in their hands.
Momen Qoreiqeh, who lost 26 members of his family in the attacks, told Al Jazeera: “We were shocked late at night to see strikes and attacks on Gaza like in the early days of the war. I was with my family and suddenly there was a huge attack on our residential block. The attack killed so many people from my family, some of them we still haven’t recovered from under the rubble.”
Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the records department in Gaza’s Health Ministry, said at least 263 of those confirmed dead were women or children under 18. He described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023. The terrible onslaught was launched early on Tuesday with airstrikes as Israeli Merkava main battle tanks were seen manoeuvring towards the stricken enclave. Local officials updated Gaza’s death toll to 61,700 since the war was sparked by Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel which killed 1,200 and saw 250 kidnapped.
Prominent Israeli activist and former hostage negotiator Gershon stormed: “The renewal of the war is very likely to be a death sentence against living hostages. “We, the people of Israel must stand up and bring our government down. It must be done now.” He blamed the war on Netanyahu’s wish to continue the conflict because it “enables his political survival against the will of the majority of Israelis.” The United Nations’ Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated, branding the attacks “unconscionable.”
Muhannad Hadi said in a statement: “Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning … This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately.” It has raised intense fears for the remaining 59 hostages still being held inside Gaza, at least half of them already thought dead . The bombardment killed the ceasefire which had been in place since January and expired at the beginning of the month threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old bloodshed. Israel had demanded an extension of phase one of the ceasefire, which began in January and ended at the beginning of this month.
But Hamas was insisting on negotiating a phase two part of the ceasefire, which would guarantee the release of the remaining hostages, dead and alive. It is also feared that the blitz will trigger a wider war in the Middle East, with Yemeni Houthis already threatening revenge attacks on Israel and its US ally. The resumption of the war was done with the approval of the US which was contacted at the White House before the airstrikes were ordered.
Israeli troops ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, including much of the northern town of Beit Hanoun and other communities further south. It is believed troops will soon restart a ground-offensive into Gaza after peace talks broke down in Qatar at the weekend. Netanyahu’s office declared: “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to try and save his far-right governing coalition and called on mediators to “reveal facts” on who broke the truce. Hamas said at least four senior officials were killed in Tuesday’s strikes. Several Israelis released from Hamas captivity in the first phase of the recent ceasefire made desperate appeals to the government to prioritize the release of the hostages and resume negotiations. Former hostage Omer Wenkert said: “Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you? Do you see us?!” He added that “the sense of being forsaken is the strongest I have ever felt.”
Romi Gonen, who was among the first hostages freed in the last ceasefire, said she “will never forget the moment in captivity when I heard the booms after the (first) deal collapsed and realized I would not be freed anytime soon.” She said: “I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them. And the government of Israel – get them out! This is the most urgent thing.” There were no reports of any attacks by Hamas several hours after the bombardment, indicating it still hoped to restore the truce. And internationally the attack drew outrage.
Chair of the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry MP, said: “Today we woke up to reports that hundreds more Gazans have been killed, and to new scenes of destruction. This comes after weeks of Israel blocking aid to Gaza, in an apparent violation of international humanitarian law. Last night’s attack targeted a population already on their knees and places Israeli and other hostages at further risk. On our recent visit to the Middle East, we were privileged to hear directly from those who were held hostage in Gaza. Aviva Siegel spoke movingly about her appalling experience as she was held underground for fifty days, and yet she still showed great empathy and concern for the mothers of Gaza.
“The recently-brokered ceasefire deal offered hope to both Gazans and Israelis, many of whom are desperate for peace and for a lasting solution to the violence that has blighted the whole region for generations. This is a backwards step and a tragic day for Palestinians.” The strikes came as Netanyahu comes under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis. His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was canceled after the strikes.
The strikes appeared to give Netanyahu a political boost, and a far-right party that had bolted the government over the ceasefire announced Tuesday it was rejoining. The main group representing families of the captives accused the government of backing out of the ceasefire, saying it “chose to give up on the hostages.” srael’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “We are shocked, angry and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas.” Israel has cut off all aid for the territory’s two million Palestinians to try to pressure Hamas to accept Netanyahu’s demands.
Rescuers were still searching the rubble for dead and wounded as the strikes continued. It was among the deadliest days of the war. Since the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward with a second phase aimed at releasing the 59 remaining hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefires or other deals, with israeli forces rescuing only eight and recovering dozens of bodies. Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.
Save the Children hit out at the Israeli attacks on Tuesday.The charity’s Regional Director Ahmad Alhendawl said: “Children and families in Gaza have barely caught their breath and are now being plunged back into a horrifically familiar world of harm that they cannot escape. This latest slaughter was on starved, besieged, defenceless families. It follows more than a fortnight of total siege by the Government of Israel on entry of aid and goods, and repeated violations of the agreed pause in hostilities, international humanitarian law, and the Provisional Measures from the International Court of Justice demanding increased aid flows.
“This cannot be what world powers allow children to return to. When children are slaughtered en masse, humanity’s moral and legal foundations crumble. We have seen it for ourselves: the only way to ensure children and families are protected as international law requires is through a ceasefire. This time, it must be definitive – the constant threat of war cannot be left hanging over their heads.”
