DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — On Wednesday, Israeli forces undertook a “limited ground operation” in northern Gaza with the aim of reclaiming a segment of a key corridor that divides the territory. Israel’s defense minister signaled a warning that the military operations, which have disrupted a previously established two-month ceasefire, are set to intensify dramatically.
The armed forces have reportedly resecured a portion of the Netzarim corridor, a strategic route that separates northern Gaza from the south. Israel had pulled out from this area as part of a peace agreement with Hamas that was brokered in January. Defense Minister Israel Katz cautioned the residents of Gaza that the army will once again call for evacuations in conflict-heavy zones and indicated that their assaults on Hamas would become increasingly severe unless numerous hostages, detained for over 17 months, are liberated.
While Israel persisted with its aerial raids over Gaza, the United Nations confirmed a tragic incident in which an international U.N. staff member was killed, and five others injured, following a strike on a U.N. guesthouse located in Gaza. Jorge Moreira da Silva, who leads the U.N. Office for Project Services, refrained from identifying the side responsible for the attack in Deir al-Balah. However, he stated that the munitions were “dropped or fired,” and stressed that the explosion was neither accidental nor linked to demining activities. Although he did not disclose the nationalities involved, the U.N. agency, referred to as UNOPS, is responsible for executing infrastructure and development missions on a global scale.
The Israeli military, engaged in a substantial campaign of air strikes over Gaza since early Tuesday, refuted initial claims of targeting the U.N. compound. Despite their denial, Moreira da Silva related that there had been strikes near the compound as early as Monday, followed by direct hits on both Tuesday and Wednesday, when the staff member was fatally harmed. Moreira da Silva highlighted that the agency had notified Israeli authorities post the initial strike, confirming that they were aware of the U.N. location’s existence.
After the midweek strike, those injured were rapidly transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital within central Deir al-Balah. Witnesses describe one individual being carried on a blanket supported by medical staff, while another rested on a hospital stretcher with a bandaged knee. A blue vest inscribed with “UN” was seen on a nearby bed.
Although no instances of rocket attacks or additional militant assaults by Palestinians have been reported since Israel escalated its air strikes overnight and into Tuesday—effectively nullifying the truce with Hamas—the bombardment persisted through Wednesday, albeit at a reduced scale. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry data, at least 436 individuals, including 183 children and 94 women, have perished since the campaign commenced early on Tuesday, with 678 others injured. While the military asserts that its actions target only militants and attributes civilian casualties to Hamas’s operations in densely populated locales, Gaza’s Health Ministry figures do not delineate between non-combatants and fighters.
An official military communique confirmed that part of the renewed offensive saw strikes on a number of militants and their sites on Wednesday, citing the command center of a Hamas battalion as a target. The Gaza conflict, temporarily halted in January by an internationally brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, ranks among the deadliest for humanitarian workers, as per the U.N.
Israel’s latest military operations, initiated early Tuesday, threaten to spiral the area back to widespread violence. This new offensive was launched a few weeks following the conclusion of the first ceasefire phase, a period during which Israel and Hamas engaged in exchanges involving hostages and prisoners, with plans to extend the truce toward achieving a peace resolution. Despite these intentions, the negotiating process faltered. Hamas has insisted that Israel comply fully with the original ceasefire terms, which involve complete withdrawal from Gaza and a cessation of conflict. Israel, determined to vanquish Hamas, has proposed an updated agreement that seeks to prolong the truce and ensure more hostages are freed by Hamas, yet provides no assurance of an end to hostilities.
