Ceasefire Ends, Israeli Airstrike On Gaza Kills 326 People
JAKARTA - At least 326 people died as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health authorities on Tuesday, marking the end of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas, with Israel pledging to use force to free all remaining hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to take "hard action" against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in response to the group's refusal to release detained hostages there and the rejection of the ceasefire's proposal.
"Israel, from now on, will act against Hamas with increasing military force," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement.
Attacks in Gaza were reported to have occurred in several locations. Officials from the health ministry managed by Hamas in Gaza said the majority of the dead were children.
In a hospital overwhelmed by a 15-month bombing, piles of bodies in a blood-covered white plastic sheet were seen piling up as the victim was brought in.
Hamas accused Israel of canceling a hard-brokered ceasefire deal agreed on January 19, leaving the fate of 59 hostages still detained in Gaza uncertain.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it was attacking dozens of targets, with attacks continuing as long as necessary and surpassing airstrikes, thereby increasing the prospects for Israeli ground forces to continue fighting.
Separately, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian Territories urged a ceasefire in Gaza to be reinstated immediately.
SEE ALSO:
"Airstrike waves have occurred throughout the Gaza Strip since the early hours of the morning. This is unacceptable," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.
Israeli media said Israel opened shelters in several areas in the commercial center of Tel Aviv to prepare for possible retaliation from Hamas or Yemen.
Israel's renewed intense pressure on Hamas comes as tensions flare elsewhere in the Middle East, which has caused Gaza's war to spread to Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.