Israel resumes Gaza offensive

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israel bombarded Gaza and pressed its ground operations on Thursday after issuing what it called a “last warning” for Palestinians to return hostages and remove Hamas from power.

The renewed offensive shattered a relative calm that had pervaded since truce took hold mid-January.

Heavy air strikes began strafing Gaza early Tuesday, killing more than 400 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Gaza rescuers said at least 10 more people were killed in a pre-dawn bombing near Khan Yunis Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had resumed ground operations “in the central and southern Gaza Strip to expand the security perimeter and create a partial buffer between the north and south.”

As Israel defied calls from foreign governments to preserve the ceasefire, Gazans were left to once again comb through rubble to find the bodies of their loved ones.

“We’re digging with our bare hands,” said a man trying to dislodge a child’s body from a heap of concrete in Gaza City.

After Israel urged civilians to leave areas it described as “combat zones,” families with young children filled the roads leading out of northern Gaza.

Fred Oola, senior medical officer at the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah, said the renewed strikes shattered the relative calm of the past two months.

“Now, we can feel the panic in the air... and we can see the pain and devastation in the faces of those we are helping,” he said.

Addressing the “residents of Gaza” — governed by Hamas since 2007 — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video: “This is the last warning.”

“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.”