Israel launches new ground operation in Gaza a day after killing over 400 Palestinians in air strikes

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, according to local health workers.

The renewed ground operations come a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.

The Israeli military said its operations have extended Israel's control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a "focused" manoeuvre aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.

The United Nations said an Israeli airstrike had killed a foreign staffer and wounded five workers at the site of a UN headquarters in central Gaza City on Wednesday. But Israel denied this, saying it had hit a Hamas site, where it had detected preparations for firing into Israeli territory.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the U.N. office for Project Services, said: "Israel knew that this was a U.N. premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a very well-known place."

Israel, which has vowed to eradicate Hamas, said its latest onslaught was "just the beginning".

Trading Blame

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching the truce, which had offered a respite for Gaza's 2.3 million residents after 17 months of war that has reduced the enclave to rubble and forced most of its population to evacuate multiple times.

The Israeli campaign has killed more than 49,000 people in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities say, and caused a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, fuel and water.

Israel has accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies this and accuses Israel of indiscriminate bombings.

The war - the most devastating episode in decades of Israel-Palestinian conflict - was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which gunmen killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to resume bombardments has triggered protests in Israel as 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with 24 of them believed to be still alive.

A coalition of hostage families and protesters against Netanyahu's moves against the judiciary and other parts of the security establishment has regrouped and accuses the prime minister of using the war for political ends.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, once again ordering residents to evacuate their homes.

Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a video statement warning Gaza residents that evacuation from combat zones would begin shortly.

'Force You Have Not Yet Seen'

He said airstrikes were "only the first step" and if the hostages were not released, "Israel will act with force you have not yet seen".

The renewed violence was condemned by Western nations, including France and Germany, as well as Qatar and Egypt which had been acting as mediators in the ceasefire negotiations.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the situation in Gaza is "unacceptable".

Jordan's King Abdullah called for the ceasefire to be restored and for aid flows to resume.

"Israel's resumption of attacks on Gaza is an extremely dangerous step that adds further devastation to an already dire humanitarian situation," he said on a visit to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Tuesday the blame for the resumption of hostilities "lies solely with Hamas".

In Wednesday's violence, three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City, while another airstrike left two men dead and wounded six others in Beit Hanoun town in the north, the Gaza health officials said.

Palestinian medics said Israeli tank shelling on the Salahdeen Road killed one Palestinian and wounded others, while an Israeli airstrike killed three people in a house in Beit Lahiya town north of the enclave.