Gaza/Cairo (Reuters)-At least 91 Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured in Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Thursday after Israel resumed their campaign of bombing and land operations at the enclave, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
After two months of relative peace, the residents of Gaza were again fleeing to save their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new air and terrestrial campaign.
Israeli aircraft launched leaflets in residential neighborhoods, ordering people to leave the cities of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the North, Shejaia district in the city of Gaza and locations on the southern outskirts of Khan Youis.
“War is back, displacement and death are back, will we survive this round?” Said Samed Sami, 29, who fled Shejaia to set up a tent for his family in an open field camp.
A day after sending tanks to downtown Gaza, the Israeli military said on Thursday that they began driving land operations in northern Enclave along the coastal route in the area of Beit Lahia.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, who had not yet retaliated during the first 48 hours of the new Israeli attack, said his combatants fired rockets against Israel. The Israeli military said Sirens sounded in the center of the country after projectiles were launched from Gaza.
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Doctors said the Israeli attacks hit several houses in the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip. Required to comment, the Israeli Armed Forces said they were analyzing the reports.
The military resumed their air strikes in Gaza since Tuesday and launched land operations on Wednesday, effectively abandoning a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas who had been in force since January.
Israel said on Thursday that his forces were engaged in the last 24 hours in what he described as a terrestrial operation directed to expand a protective zone that separates the northern and southern halves of Gaza, known as the Netzarim corridor.
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Israel ordered residents to be away from Salahuddin road, the main North-South route, and said they should travel along the coast.
The first day of air strikes resumed on Tuesday killed more than 400 Palestinians, one of the deadliest days of the war.
In a blow to Hamas, which was trying to rebuild his administration in Gaza, this week’s attacks killed some of his main figures, including the Gaza Government, appointed by Hamas, the head of security services, his advisor and the deputy chief of the Ministry of Justice, run by Hamas.
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Hamas is severely weakened but still standing, although Israel warned that the latest attack was only the beginning.
The militant group said the Israeli terrestrial operation and the incursion in the Netzarim corridor were a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and asked the mediators to “assume their responsibilities.”
A first temporary phase of ceasefire ended earlier this month. Hamas wants to move to a second agreed phase, in which Israel would be forced to negotiate the end of the war and the withdrawal of their troops, and the Israeli hostages kept in Gaza would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
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Israel offered only a temporary extension of the truce, cut all supplies to Gaza and said it is restarting its military campaign to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
