Gaza fighting resumes as truce collapses

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire negotiations collapsed Tuesday midnight, according to Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra.

The renewed Israeli attacks first targeted the house of Hamas military figure Muhammed Dief on Tuesday night, killing Dief’s wife and child, Hamas spokesman Musa Abu Marzouk said on Wednesday.

Commenting on the failed negotiations, Abu Marzouk said: “Surely, the Israeli stalling and shuffling did not give a chance for the negotiations to succeed, there is no progress worth mentioning.”

Israel recalled its negotiators from Cairo on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of breaking the ceasefire eight hours before it was due to expire.

The Palestinian negotiators later recalled its negotiators on Wednesday morning, and said this was due to the “arrogance” of the Israeli delegation. They accused the Israeli delegation of refusing to respond to all proposals made through the Egyptian mediators.

Head of the Palestinian delegation Azzam Al-Ahmed said: “It is clear that Netanyahu does not want peace, and all of Israel’s actions during the negotiations confirm from the first day that it is not serious in reaching a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinian delegation.”

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson, Israel’s Operation Protective Edge has killed around 2028 people and wounded 10,302 others throughout its entire 45 days. A total of 67 Israelis were killed, 64 of whom were soldiers.

“Since the ceasefire was breached by Hamas, over 70 rockets were launched at Israel. In response, the IDF targeted some 60 terror sites across the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Force’s spokesperson unit said.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian delegation, said he believes there is a “real blockage” in the negotiations and that Israel continued to evade the Palestinian delegations’ demands.

“Netanyahu and his extremist government bear full responsibility for the breach of the truce and the escalation against our unarmed people,” Al-Rishq said. “Israel will not enjoy security as long as our own Palestinian people do not feel [secure].”

An Israeli strike targeted the Al-Dalou family home in Gaza’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood late Tuesday. Israel previously attacked the Al-Dalou family’s home in its 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, killing 12 members of the family at the time.

Civil defence rescue teams recovered the bodies of two Al-Dalou family members, a woman and a child, from the rubble in the aftermath of the more recent Israeli attack.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said: “Lieberman’s call to Netanyahu to continue the war until Hamas surrenders is stupid and foolish.”

In a statement they released on Tuesday, the Al-Qassam Brigades stated Hamas rockets came “in the framework of the enemy’s breaching of the ceasefire, and the massacres committed against our people, especially the bombardment of the Al-Dalou family home.”

“By breaching the truce and attacking the Al-Dalou family’s home, [Israel] has opened on itself the gates of hell,” the Al-Qassam statement read.

The group also took responsibility for firing rockets at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ben Gurion airport, Beersheva, and other cities after the ceasefire broke.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Egypt expresses “deep sorrow” over the end of the ceasefire, and “the renewed shelling between Israel and the Gaza Strip”.

It stated that Egypt will continue “bilateral contacts with both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to urge renewed commitment to a ceasefire”.

The statement added that this “would open the door for communicating an agreement to guarantee permanent ceasefire and achieving the interests of the Palestinian people, especially in relation to matters pertaining to opening the crossings and reconstruction.”

According to the UN’s Gaza situation report, there are currently around 380,000 people hosted in UNRWA shelters. Over 100,000 people will be “long-term displaced due to destruction/severe damage to their homes,” even in the event of a lasting ceasefire.