Israel carried out 2,400 attacks in the Gaza Strip in six months since the ceasefire

Israel carried out 2,400 attacks in Gaza during the first six months of the "ceasefire," authorities said on Tuesday.

In assessing the damage, Gaza officials said 754 people had been killed since the October 10, 2021 ceasefire, almost half of them women, children or the elderly.

The director of the Gaza Government Media Office, Ismail Al Thawabta, told The National that the attacks, which included attacks on civilian areas, houses, and public gathering places, were "a clear violation" of the laws of armed conflict.

The 2,400 attacks reported by Gaza officials included 1,100 bombings, 920 shootings, and hundreds of other explosions and raids.

Israel typically says - though it provides little evidence - it is targeting Hamas fighters or people who violate the "yellow line" that limits Israel's occupied territory.

Among the most worrying developments is the gradual advance of the yellow line. In eastern Gaza, Musab Al Shawa (29) describes life under constant threat near the perimeter.

"The war never really stopped for us," he told The National, as quoted (15/4).

"We heard the sound of vehicles advancing and firing all the time. More than once, we were directly targeted," he continued.

"My family members were injured," Al Shawa said.

It is known that US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in October. The second phase, announced by special envoy Steve Witkoff on January 14, was intended to deliver reconstruction, disarmament of Hamas, and a gradual withdrawal by the Israeli army.

But, with the US focus now elsewhere in the region, little progress has been made.

Some families have been forced to move several times. Majed Hamdan (35) and his family were displaced after his young nephew was wounded by gunfire at their displacement center in Jabalia. He described the last days as feeling like going back to the darkest days of the war.

"We are going through very difficult hours, as if the war had started again," he said.

"We are aware of the danger getting closer," Hamdan continued.

"So, we are displaced again," he said.

After fleeing the Yaman Al Saeed area of Jabalia to the Al Shati camp, he knew this new shelter might not last long.

"Every minute, we are afraid that the yellow line will shift again," he said.

"And we will be forced to disperse once again," said Hamdan.

On the other hand, many others remain in high-risk areas, unable or unwilling to move, often because they have nowhere else to seek safety.

This escalation comes amid rising tensions in Palestinian lands in the West Bank and conflicting interpretations of events in Gaza.

Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman, accused Israel of deliberately escalating the situation to "reshape the Gaza Strip" and tighten control through the expansion of the yellow line.

He told The National the group was working with mediators, including the US, to keep a ceasefire and prevent a return to full-scale war.

"Hamas is not interested in returning to war," Qassem said, adding that continued attacks risked pushing the situation towards a new conflict.

Despite the ceasefire, the distinction between war and peace in Gaza is increasingly blurred. The gunfire, shelling and airstrikes, documented in hundreds of incidents, have created a reality where, for many residents, the war has not really ended.

For those living along the "yellow line", the fear is constant and immediate.

"We think everything is calm," Hamdan said.

"But now it feels like everything can collapse again at any time," he said.

Separately, medical sources in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday announced that the number of deaths as a result of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip had risen to 72,336, while 172,213 others were injured since the start of the attack on October 7, 2023, as reported by WAFA,

They noted that the total number of civilians killed since the ceasefire on October 11 had risen to 757, and the total number of injured to 2,111, while 760 bodies had been found.

The sources indicated that a number of victims were still under the rubble and on the streets, because the ambulance and rescue teams have not been able to reach them until now.