At least 58 Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip overnight and early Thursday, according to three hospitals. The Israeli army struck homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept.
Israel resumed bombing Gaza on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that had halted the fighting and helped free dozens of hostages.
The Israeli government blamed Hamas - the group designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU - for the resumption of fighting, after the militant group rejected a new proposal that differs from the agreement signed between the parties.
More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.
Hamas is not reported to have fired rockets or carried out any other attacks.
One of the attacks in the early hours of Thursday hit the home of the Abu Daqa family in Abasan al-Kabira, a village near Khan Yunis, close to the border with Israel. The Israeli army had ordered its residents to evacuate earlier this week.
The attack killed at least 16 people, mostly women and children, according to the nearby European Hospital, which received the bodies. A father and his seven children were among those killed, as well as the parents and brother of a one-month-old baby who survived with her grandparents.
"Another difficult night," said Hani Awad, who helped rescuers search for survivors under the rubble. "The house collapsed on people's heads."
Israel, which has also cut off food, fuel and humanitarian aid supplies to the estimated 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, has vowed to intensify operations until Hamas releases the remaining 59 hostages - 35 of whom are believed to be dead - and relinquishes control of Gaza.
The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.
Hamas has said it will release the remaining hostages only in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire deal reached in January after more than a year of mediation by the US, Egypt and Qatar.
Hamas, which does not recognize the existence of Israel, says it is ready to hand over power to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority or an independent political committee, but will not lay down its arms until Israel ends its occupation of territories that Palestinians want for a future state.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on Thursday's attacks.
The European Hospital in the southern city of Rafah said it had received 26 bodies after overnight attacks, mostly women and children. Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis received the bodies of seven people killed in an attack on a house. In northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital said it had received the bodies of seven people killed in an attack on a house in Beit Lahiya, a town near the border.
The war began when Hamas-led militants swept into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others. Most of the hostages have been released under ceasefire agreements or other agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages alive and recovered the bodies of dozens more.
Israel's war of revenge, one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed almost 49,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The war at its peak displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza's population and has caused widespread destruction across the territory. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to their homes during the ceasefire, but many found only rubble and buildings destroyed by bombardment. (A2 Televizion)
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