IRIA News

At least 700 people have been reported dead within 24 hours as Israel resumed attacks on Gaza after 7 days of humanitarian pause. Heavy bombardment was reported in the city of Rafah and the area of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.

The weeklong temporary ceasefire of the Gaza Strip collapsed after the end of the truce between Hamas and Israel. Both Israel and Hamas are blaming each other for the breakdown. Hostilities between the two warring parties immensely increased on December 4 shortly after the truce expired.

Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza while Hamas fired rockets. Israeli officials reported that the truce broke down because Hamas failed to release as many hostages from Gaza as it had promised. Israel has also accused Hamas of not releasing the women and children as it had promised.

“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals, and it’s impossible to achieve those goals without the ground operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address hours before the fighting continues.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Israeli forces reservists near the Gaza border. He said, “Hamas only understands force and therefore we will continue to act until we achieve the goals of the war.”

“We are going for the complete elimination of the Hamas organization,” Gallant added. He also said that he had been in one of the Israeli war jets during the assault operations to watch it up close.

Heavy bombardment

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli bombardment destroyed around 50 residential buildings in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City and a six-story building in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya on the northern edge of the city.

More than 60 people were killed in the Shijaiyah strikes and more than 300 were buried under the rubble yet to be rescued.

The Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza reported that more than 700 Palestinians have been killed in the first 24 hours of war after the truce ended, accounting for one of the highest numbers of casualties within 24 hours since the war started on October 7.

Attacks on vessels in Red Sea

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has reported that an American warship and several commercial vessels in the Red Sea were subjected to attacks carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We are aware of reports concerning the attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available,” the Pentagon stated.

According to maritime security sources, at least two drones struck the bulk carrier ship while it was navigating the Red Sea. Earlier, the British maritime security company Ambrey reported that a container ship sustained damage from a drone attack near the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Pentagon did not specify the source of the alleged attack. Nevertheless, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been launching a series of assaults on vessels in the Red Sea, along with deploying drones and missiles targeting Israel amid its conflict with Gaza.

On December 3, Yemen’s Houthi rebel group conducted drone and missile strikes on two Israeli ships in the Red Sea. According to reports, Houthi claimed that they had attacked Israel’s Unity Explorer and Number Nine vessels with drone and naval missiles.

Qatar demands investigation

Qatar played a major role in mediating the truce between Hamas and Israel that resulted in the release of 150 Israeli hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners as well as a 7-day-long ceasefire.

After the resumption of fighting between the two sides, Qatar is demanding an “immediate, comprehensive and impartial international investigation” into what its prime minister described as Israeli “crimes in Gaza”.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has repeatedly called on the international community to restrain Israel in its war on Gaza. He also warned that the conflict is a dangerous escalation that threatens the region.