New wave of Israeli attacks in Gaza
At least 13 people have been killed in overnight air strikes in Gaza, after Israel announced the resumption of combat operations, the BBC reports.
Two civilians were killed and five were wounded by an Israeli drone near the Muasi humanitarian zone, according to the Palestinian Wafa agency. The Israeli army said it had struck a Hamas military facility from which an attack on Israel was being prepared, according to the report. KosovaPress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the fighting would resume with "full force" and that "this is just the beginning."
The bombings are not on the same scale as Tuesday, when the Hamas-run Health Ministry said over 400 people were killed - but they show that Israel's new offensive is not stopping.
Netanyahu said Israel's objectives remain the return of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas, but the families of the hostages criticized the decision, seeing it as an abandonment of their loved ones. Israel says Hamas still holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
Egypt called the attack a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire. The Gaza Health Ministry has not yet given an exact number of the latest casualties, it reports. KosovaPress.
Meanwhile, regional mediators are trying to persuade Hamas to release some Israeli hostages in exchange for a reduction in tensions, but Netanyahu has stated that any ceasefire talks will take place "under fire."
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, left about 1.200 people dead and 251 hostages taken. Israel responded with a massive military offensive that, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, has killed over 48.500 Palestinians and destroyed infrastructure on a large scale.
