Escalation IDF ground operations restart in Gaza Strip

Israel has restarted ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip and killed at least 23 people in airstrikes on the southern city of Khan Younis in what it says is a renewed military campaign aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages.

- Bethan McKernan

At least 17 people were killed in the attack early yesterday, the Nasser hospital said, as the search for survivors continued.

More than 1,250 Palestinians in the besieged territory have been killed in Israeli bombings since 18 March, including at least 100 people on Thursday alone in airstrikes that hit three schools-turned-shelters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the targets were Hamas control centres.

According to the UN, 280,000 people have been forced to leave their homes or shelters since Israel decided to abandon a two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas, cutting off aid and fuel on 2 March and resuming large-scale bombing two weeks later.

Ground troops have since re-entered the strip's southernmost city of Rafah and the Netzarim corridor that cuts off Gaza City from the rest of the territory.