At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli air strikes in Gaza, the Hamas-run civil defence agency has said.
It comes after Israel resumed its bombing campaign and ground operations in the territory this week, with air strikes killing more than 430 people over two days, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Hamas says the ground operation announced by Israel on Wednesday is a “new and dangerous” violation of the ceasefire deal, which began in January. Israel resumed attacks on Tuesday as talks to extend the deal failed to progress.
Israel has warned that attacks will intensify in Gaza until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.
Israel says Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday it had begun “targeted ground activities” to create what it called a “partial buffer between the north and south” in Gaza. It called the action a “limited ground operation”.
IDF spokesperson Col Avichay Adraee said forces were deployed up to the centre of a strip known as the Netzarim corridor which divides northern and southern Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had “resumed combat in full force” and any ceasefire negotiations would now take place “under fire”.
Israel and Hamas have failed to agree how to take the ceasefire beyond the first phase, which expired on 1 March.
Hamas did not agree to a renegotiation of the ceasefire on Israel’s terms, although it offered to release a living American hostage and four hostages’ bodies as mediators tried to keep the ceasefire going.
Israel blocked all food, fuel and medical supplies entering Gaza at the beginning of March in order to put pressure on Hamas. It accused Hamas of commandeering the provisions as part of its strategy against Israel, though without providing evidence.
The war was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and 251 other taken hostage. Twenty-five Israeli and five Thai hostages were released alive during the first phase of the ceasefire.
Israel responded to the October attack with a massive military offensive, which had killed more than 48,500 Palestinians, mainly civilians, before Israel resumed its campaign, the Hamas-run health ministry says. Israel’s offensive has also caused huge amounts of destruction to homes and infrastructure.
