Israeli military says it has begun new ground operation in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, according to local health workers.

The operations have extended Israel’s control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a “focused” maneuver aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave, the military said.

The renewed ground operations come a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest days since the beginning of the conflict, shattering a ceasefire has largely held since January.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a “last warning” to Gazans on Wednesday, saying in a video statement that they should follow the advice of US President Donald Trump and return Israeli hostages and remove Hamas from power.

“Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning,” Katz said. “Take the advice of the President of the United States. Return the hostages and remove Hamas, and other options will open up for you – including the possibility of leaving for other places in the world for those who want to.”

The United Nations said an Israeli airstrike had killed a foreign staffer and wounded five workers at the site of a UN headquarters in central Gaza City on Wednesday. But Israel denied the claim, saying it had hit a Hamas site, where it had detected preparations for firing into Israeli territory.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN office for Project Services, said: “Israel knew that this was a UN premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a very well-known place.”

Israel said its onslaught was “just the beginning.”

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaching the truce, which had offered a respite for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents after 17 months of war that has reduced the enclave to rubble and forced most of its population to evacuate multiple times.

The Israeli campaign has killed more than 49,000 people in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities say, and caused a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, fuel and water.

Israel has accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies this and accuses Israel of indiscriminate bombings.

The war – the most devastating episode in decades of Israel- Palestinian conflict – was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which gunmen killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.