Israeli airstrikes unleashed a deadly barrage across northern and central Gaza on Saturday, claiming at least 24 Palestinian lives and wounding 54 others, including numerous children, in a stark escalation that has severely strained the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10 following two grueling years of relentless conflict.
The attacks, conducted via drones and missiles, marked one of the bloodiest episodes since the truce began, with Gaza's health officials reporting widespread devastation and calling for immediate international intervention to halt the violence that has already claimed 312 Palestinian lives from Israeli fire during the fragile pause in hostilities.
The Israeli Defense Forces justified the operation by citing an incursion by an "armed terrorist" across the Yellow Line—a demarcation where troops had withdrawn—resulting in gunfire directed at soldiers along a humanitarian aid corridor in southern Gaza, prompting retaliatory strikes on what they described as terror infrastructure, including the elimination of five senior Hamas operatives.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of repeated ceasefire violations, asserting that Israel has scrupulously adhered to the terms while urging mediators to compel the militant group to reciprocate, a claim echoed in prior incidents where similar strikes followed reported attacks, such as the 33 deaths over a 12-hour span earlier in the week.
Hamas decried the escalation as deliberate sabotage of the truce, demanding urgent mediator action to curb Israeli "aggressions," while the Palestinian foreign ministry from the West Bank condemned the assaults as massacres and appealed for global pressure on Israel; amid the chaos, UN agencies lamented persistent barriers to aid delivery, with displaced residents voicing profound despair over the ceasefire's failure to restore even basic sustenance.
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