War between Israel and Hamas: Israel turns its attention to South Gaza for the next phase of the war

The region’s fragile seven-day truce collapsed early Friday, and Gaza was ravaged again as Israel resumed the ceasefire. one of the most intense bombings of the 21st century. In the following hours, health officials in Gaza said 178 Palestinians were killed and another 578 people were injured.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on November 24, had allowed the release of 240 captured Palestinians and 81 hostages taken by Hamas and other militant groups on October 7. Another twenty foreigners, mostly Thai farm workers, were also released during negotiations separate from the ceasefire.

The ceasefire also allowed for a greater number of deliveries of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza than in previous weeks of the war.

Israeli and Hamas officials said the deal collapsed because they could not agree on additional exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Israel and Hamas also blamed each other for violating the ceasefire.

Mr Hammash said the Norwegian Refugee Council, a non-governmental group based in Oslo, had used the temporary ceasefire to prepare an aid distribution plan. But with the resumption of fighting, he said, his teams have halted their activities.

The latest phase of Israel’s campaign against Gaza has begun expected to aim the southern half of the region, where many Palestinians have sought safety.

Some Palestinians near Khan Younis said the Israeli army ordered them to evacuate further south to Rafah, which lies along Gaza’s border with Egypt. But that city has also been hit by air raids. Many Palestinians and observers argue that nowhere in Gaza can be considered safe.

Mahmoud el-Khaldi, a 17-year-old from Gaza City, suffered a fractured skull and bleeding in his lungs, liver and spleen as a result of Israeli airstrikes on November 20 in Rafah that killed his sister, Carolin el-Khaldi, 28 . He was discharged from the European Hospital in Gaza on Thursday and went to his aunt’s house in Al Qarara, a few kilometers north of Rafah, near the town of Khan Younis.

Early on Friday, thunderous Israeli airstrikes hit nearby houses, blowing out his aunt’s windows and wounding Mr el-Khaldi again, this time lightly.

“As soon as the ceasefire ended, they attacked houses near us,” Mr. el-Khaldi said in a telephone interview on Friday evening. “It was a sound of horror.”

Mr el-Khaldi said the Israeli army had ordered his family to leave Al Qarara and move back to Rafah. However, his family has refused.

Sameer al-Jarrah, 67, has lived in Al Qarara since the war began on October 7, following the devastating Hamas-led attacks on Israel from Gaza.

“I don’t know where to go,” he said. When asked if Rafah was possible, he said: “Where people go, I go.”

At least 1.8 million residents, or 80 percent of Gaza’s approximately 2.2 million residents, have been forced to flee their homes since the war. Many fear permanent displacement.

Gheed al-Hessi, 37, moved to Rafah from northern Gaza in October, when the Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation that sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing south. But to describe the south as the safest and most humanitarian area in Gaza is a “very big lie,” she said.

Huge explosions late at night and early morning often wake her up, leaving her shocked and shaking. She said she had run out of clean water, cooking gas and electricity.

“Rafah is not safe at all,” she said. “Since the very beginning of the war, many buildings and many families have been affected.”

She said a friend called her on Friday and asked if she could go somewhere in Rafah; Ms al-Hessi responded that the situation was dire, with many forced to sleep outside on the sidewalks or in nylon tents.

The people of Rafah, she added, had one question on their minds.

“If the Israeli forces threaten us and ask us to evacuate and leave Rafah,” she said, “where will we go?”