SRINAGAR: At least 104 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry reported, marking one of the deadliest nights since the latest round of hostilities resumed, as per BBC.
According to the Israeli military, as per Sky News, the strikes targeted “dozens of terror sites and operatives” in what it described as a response to repeated ceasefire violations by Hamas. The bombardment came hours after the collapse of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, which had been aimed at easing tensions and facilitating humanitarian access in the war-ravaged territory.
Israel’s Defence Minister accused Hamas of carrying out an attack in Gaza that killed an Israeli soldier, and of failing to comply with the ceasefire’s terms relating to the return of deceased hostages’ bodies. “We will not tolerate continued aggression or violations of the agreement,” he said, adding that military operations would continue until “security and deterrence are restored.”
Hamas, however, denied any involvement in the alleged attack, accusing Israel of fabricating pretexts to resume military action. “We have no connection to the incident,” a Hamas spokesperson said, as claiming that Israel was attempting to undermine the truce and derail diplomatic efforts for a lasting peace.
The latest strikes reduced several residential areas in central and southern Gaza to rubble, with emergency teams struggling to retrieve bodies trapped beneath debris. Hospitals, already overwhelmed by weeks of conflict, reported severe shortages of fuel, medical supplies, and beds.
International aid agencies and human rights groups condemned the renewed violence, warning of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where thousands of civilians remain displaced and essential services are on the brink of collapse.
The United Nations called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged both sides to respect international humanitarian law, stressing that civilian lives must be protected and that renewed escalation “threatens to erase all progress made through diplomacy.”
