After airstrikes, Israel says it has launched new ground operation in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers.

The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.

The Israeli military said its operations extended Israel's control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a "focused" manoeuvre aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.

Hamas said the ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim Corridor were a "new and dangerous violation" of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the deal and called on mediators to "assume their responsibilities".

The United Nations said a strike killed a foreign staffer and wounded five workers at a UN site in central Gaza City on Wednesday. Gaza's health ministry attributed the strike to Israel, but Israel denied this, saying it hit a Hamas site where it 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 UN premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a very well-known place."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a full investigation and condemned all attacks on UN personnel. In a statement he said the strike brought to at least 280 the number of UN colleagues killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

In Sofia, the foreign ministry said a Bulgarian working for the UN died on Wednesday in Gaza, citing preliminary information.

Israel, which has vowed to eradicate Hamas, said on Tuesday that its latest onslaught in Gaza 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 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.