Escalation in Gaza: Over 500 Palestinians Killed as Israel Resumes Ground Offensive
Intensified Israeli attacks in Gaza claim hundreds of lives, as humanitarian conditions worsen amid ongoing siege and stalled ceasefire negotiations.
Watan-The Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement that at least 85 Palestinians were martyred and 133 others were wounded in the Israeli aggression on Gaza on Thursday.
In a statement on the Telegram platform, it said: “Eighty-five martyrs and 133 injured have arrived at the sector’s hospitals due to the multiple attacks and massacres committed by Israel since dawn on Thursday.”
The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that its forces had resumed ground operations in central and southern Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire that had largely held since January.
The resumption of ground operations came after more than 400 Palestinians were martyred in airstrikes—one of the deadliest rounds of bombardment since the war began in October 2023.
510 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Airstrikes as Army Expands Gaza Offensive
A health official stated that Israeli airstrikes had resulted in 510 Palestinian deaths since Tuesday, more than half of them women and children.
The Israeli occupation army said that its forces had taken control of the Netzarim corridor, the central axis of the Gaza Strip, describing the maneuver as a “focused” operation aimed at establishing a partial buffer zone between the north and south of the Strip.
Hamas described the ground operation and incursion into the Netzarim corridor as a “new and dangerous violation” of the ceasefire agreement reached two months ago.
In a statement, Hamas said: “We affirm our commitment to the signed ceasefire agreement and call on the guarantor mediators to take responsibility for curbing these irresponsible violations.”
A Hamas official said on Thursday that mediators had intensified their efforts with both sides, but so far, this had not led to any breakthrough.
Gaza Faces Famine as Israeli Siege Blocks Humanitarian Aid
On Wednesday, Gaza’s government media office announced that the Strip had entered the early stages of famine due to Israel’s continued siege and the closure of crossings to humanitarian aid and goods since March 2.
On Friday, the World Food Program said it had been unable to deliver any food supplies to Gaza since March 2 due to Israel’s closure of the crossings.
On Tuesday, Israel launched its largest violation yet of the fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States in January.
Israeli airstrikes targeted inhabited homes, shelters, and tents for displaced people, causing widespread destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
In early March 2025, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel ended after 42 days, having begun on January 19.
Israel Stalls Ceasefire Deal as War on Gaza Continues
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been avoiding the start of the second phase of the agreement, seeking to secure the release of more Israeli captives without fulfilling its obligations for this phase—particularly ending the war of extermination and fully withdrawing from Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas insists on implementing the agreement and calls for Israel to be held to all its terms, urging mediators to immediately initiate negotiations for the second phase, which includes an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete end to the war.
With American backing, Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving over 162,000 Palestinians martyred or wounded, most of them women and children, along with more than 14,000 missing.
