Violence surged in the Israel-Gaza conflict as Hamas launched rockets toward Tel Aviv on Thursday in response to Israeli military operations that have intensified across the Palestinian territory. The move marked Hamas’s first military action since Israel resumed its air and ground offensives earlier in the week, bringing renewed devastation to Gaza’s civilian population.
According to the Gaza civil defense agency, the latest Israeli strikes have claimed the lives of 504 people, including more than 190 children, since the offensive was renewed. The scale of destruction has sparked fresh international outcry, with humanitarian groups warning of an escalating crisis.
Israel’s military confirmed that it intercepted one projectile from Gaza while two others landed in uninhabited areas. The renewed hostilities shattered a ceasefire that had held since January, plunging Gaza’s residents back into fear and suffering. At the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, families mourned the dead, their grief reflected in the blood-stained white shrouds covering their loved ones. “We want a ceasefire! We want a ceasefire!” pleaded Mohammed Hussein, one of the many devastated civilians at the hospital.
The Israeli army has since tightened restrictions on movement within Gaza, prohibiting travel along Salaheddin Road, the main north-south route through the territory. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee stated that operations were being expanded to “increase the security zone” between the northern and southern regions of Gaza. Alternative passage via the coastal Al-Rashid Road was mentioned, though it remains unclear whether movement from the south to the north is also restricted.
The humanitarian toll continues to mount, with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemning what he described as an “endless unleashing of the most inhumane ordeals” on Gaza’s population. The ongoing bombardments, he said, have left civilians trapped in an unrelenting nightmare.
Amid the renewed violence, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced Israel’s latest military actions as a “catastrophic crime” and accused the United States of bearing responsibility. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis remain stalled, with both sides deeply entrenched in their positions.
The war began in 2023 after a Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,218 people dead, mostly civilians. Since then, the toll in Gaza has been devastating, with more than 48,570 lives lost according to the territory’s health ministry. As the conflict rages on, the suffering of civilians remains at the heart of a crisis with no clear
end in sight.
