At least 85 more Palestinians killed as Israel resumes war in Gaza; Hamas responds with rockets
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A Palestinian injured during an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza is brought to a hospital on March 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
CAIRO – At least 85 Palestinians were killed and 133 wounded in Israeli air strikes across Gaza on March 20 as Israel resumed its bombing campaign and ground operations in the enclave.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which did not retaliate during the first 48 hours of Israel’s renewed assault, said it fired rockets into Israel.
Israel’s army said it intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza, while two others fell in an uninhabited area after air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and central Israel.
Medics said the latest strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern Gaza.
Israel resumed its air assaults on Gaza on March 18 and launched ground operations on March 19, effectively abandoning a ceasefire that had held since January.
The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in air strikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023.
Since March 18, air strikes have killed 510 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children, Mr Khalil Al-Deqran, spokesman of Gaza’s Health Ministry, told Reuters.
In a blow to Hamas as it sought to rebuild its administration in Gaza, the latest strikes have killed some of its top figures, including the de facto Hamas-appointed head of the Gaza government, the chief of security services, his aide, and the deputy head of the Hamas-run Justice Ministry.
Hamas, severely weakened but still standing, has not hit back even though Israel has warned that the latest onslaught is only the beginning.
The Israeli military said its operations 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.
Hamas said the ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim Corridor were a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement.
In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the deal and called on mediators to “assume their responsibilities”.
A temporary first phase of the ceasefire ended at the start of March.
Hamas wants to move to an agreed second phase, under which Israel will be required to negotiate an end to the war and withdrawal of its troops, and Israeli hostages held in Gaza will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has offered only a temporary extension of the truce, cut off all supplies to Gaza and says it is restarting its military campaign to force Hamas to free the remaining hostages.
A Hamas official said mediators have stepped up their efforts with the two warring sides but added that “no breakthrough has yet been made”.
Bulldozers and tanks
The resumption of air strikes has sent Palestinian residents again fleeing for their lives from homes that they have begun to re-inhabit among the ruins of the devastated enclave.
Some Palestinians who tried to use the Salahuddin road said they saw cars come under fire from Israeli troops advancing towards Netzarim. The fate of the passengers in the vehicles was unknown.
“Bulldozers protected by some tanks were heading to the west coming from the areas where they are stationed near the fence east of the Salahuddin road,” one taxi driver said.
He said it has become clear that the Israelis are advancing on Netzarim when Egyptian and foreign inspectors stationed there under the ceasefire abruptly withdrew.
Some residents turned to social media to report the disappearance of some relatives, while others reported cases to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
A Palestinian girl walking beside a mosque that was destroyed as Israel begins a new round of ground incursion in Gaza.
The war started after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
More than 49,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s health authorities, with the enclave reduced to rubble.
Houthis still in play
Inside Israel, sirens sounded across several areas after Hamas-allied Houthi militants in Yemen fired a missile early on March 20.
Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported.
The Houthis, undeterred by waves of US strikes since March 15, fired a ballistic missile towards Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson said in a televised statement.
The group has recently vowed to escalate their attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
US strikes, which began on March 15 over the Houthis’ attacks against Red Sea shipping, are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people.
Mr Trump also threatened on March 17 to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions. REUTERS