At least 91 killed in Gaza as Israel Abandons Ceasefire, Orders Evacuation

According to Gaza health Ministry, at least 91 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday after Israel resumed bombing and ground operations.

Following two months of relative peace, Gazans were again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign.

Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on residential neighbourhoods, demanding people to leave Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the north, Gaza City’s Shejaia sector, and communities on the eastern edges of Khan Younis in the south.

“War is back, displacement and death are back, will we survive this round?” said Samed Sami, 29, who fled Shejaia to put up a tent for his family in a camp on open ground.

A day after sending tanks into central Gaza, the Israeli military said on Thursday it had also begun conducting ground operations in the north of the enclave, along the coastal route in Beit Lahiya.

Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that did not retaliate during the first 48 hours of Israel’s renewed assault, claimed its fighters fired rockets into Israel. According to the Israeli military, sirens went off in the country’s centre after projectiles were fired from Gaza.

Palestinian medics said Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip.

With talks failing to extend the ceasefire, the military launched its air assault on Gaza with a heavy bombing campaign on Tuesday, followed by the deployment of soldiers the next day.