Israel-Gaza latest: Hamas says prime minister among 404 killed by Israeli strikes as ceasefire ends
Israeli military says its offensive will continue ‘for as long as necessary’ and expand beyond airstrikes
The prime minister of Gaza’s Hamas-run government is among the 404 killed after Israel unleashed the deadliest wave of airstrikes since a ceasefire deal was reached in January, Gaza officials have said.
Issam al-Daalis, head of the government administrative committee in Gaza, was killed during strikes on densely populated areas of the enclave with residential buildings and makeshift schools among those targeted.
“Several dozen” children were seen dead after Israel’s renewed attacks, a UNICEF worker said. Health officials say that women and children make up a large number of killed so far.
The Israeli military said its offensive will “expand beyond” the air strikes, which were largely targeted on Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis.
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 for failing to release the hostages. 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.
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said Israel’s strikes will “sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them”.
'It was a night of hell... we thought the war was over'
For Palestinian mother-of-five Rabiha Jamal, a life of fearing each minute for the safety of her children returned overnight.
"It was a night of hell. It felt like the first days of the war," said Ms Jamal, 65, from Gaza City.
"We were preparing to have something to eat before starting a new day of fasting when the building shook and explosions began. We thought it was over but war is back," she told Reuters.
More than 400 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past day. The Israeli military has vowed to go further than air attacks and has ordered thousands of Palestinians near Gaza’s border with Israel to evacuate.
MSF: Hospitals struggling to cope after ‘absolutely terrifying’ Israeli attacks
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Hospitals in Gaza have become desperately overwhelmed after an “absolutely terrifying” night of Israeli attacks, the head of emergencies at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has told The Independent.
Claire Nicolet, who is in Gaza, was woken last night by the “sounds of bombing, heavy bombing, it was absolutely terrifying”.
MSF teams are struggling without the knowledge of whether they can safely move around the Gaza strip, Ms Nicolet added, and the situation is “complicated for hospitals” which are “very overwhelmed”.
She added: “There is very poor access to health care, very poor access to shelter as everything is destroyed.
“The population here is completely afraid. Of course, they saw that this is a full restart of the fighting and they are very scared of what’s next.
“Unfortunately, we also understood that the medical evacuation has stopped for now, which means that normally every day there are a few patients that are going outside [through] Rafah [border crossing with Egypt].
“This will not happen today and we don’t know how it will continue.”
Palesitinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson killed in Israeli strikes, sources say
The spokesperson of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza was killed in an Israeli airstrike, along with his wife and several members of his family, sources associated with the group told Reuters.
Naji Abu Saif, better known as Abu Hamza, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in central Gaza, the sources added.
Freed British-Israeli hostage says she is 'crushed' by resumption of fighting
Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says her "heart is broken, crushed and disappointed" by the resumption of fighting in Gaza.
In a story on Instagram shared by Israeli media, she said she would keep fighting for the remaining hostages.
France condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza
France has joined the numerous countries to condemn Israeli strikes on Gaza, following in the wake of Egypt, Norway, Qatar, the UN and others.
The French Foreign Affairs Ministry called for an immediate halt to the violence, it said in a statement, adding that Israel must do all it can to ensure the protection of civilians and re-establish water and electricity.
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.
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.
UK rules out Israel arms embargo after condemning aid blockade
The UK will not impose an arms embargo on Israel over an aid blockade to Gaza described by the Foreign Secretary as a “breach of international law,” a senior Cabinet minister has said.
Pat McFadden said Britain would instead use “whatever diplomatic influence we have” to seek to restore a ceasefire after hospital officials said hundreds of Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes.
The surprise bombardment early on Tuesday shattered the truce in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.
Israel ordered the strikes after Hamas refused its demands to change the ceasefire terms, and has also cut off aid shipments to Gaza’s two million Palestinians to try to pressure the group to accept.
Read the full report:
UK rules out Israel arms embargo after condemning aid blockade
Rafah border crossing closed, says EU spokesperson
The border crossing at Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip, has been closed according to an EU spokesperson.
An EU mission in the area is putting in place emergency procedures, after it had restarted monitoring of the border crossing in early February.
The crossing was previously closed in May 2024, when Israel seized the entire Palestinian side of the border with Egypt.
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