[Source: Reuters]

The Israeli military said on Wednesday its forces have resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 38 Palestinians, according to local health workers.

The renewed ground operations come a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.

The Israeli military said its operations have extended Israel’s control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a “focused” manoeuvre aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said the ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim Corridor were a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the deal called on mediators to “assume their responsibilities“.

The United Nations said an Israeli airstrike had killed a foreign staffer and wounded five workers at the site of a U.N. headquarters in central Gaza City on Wednesday. But Israel denied this, saying it had hit a Hamas site, where it had detected preparations for firing into Israeli territory.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the U.N. Office for Project Services, said: “Israel knew that this was a U.N. premises, that people were living, staying and working there, it is a compound. It is a very well-known place.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a full investigation and condemned all attacks on U.N. personnel. In a statement he said the strike brought to at least 280 the number of U.N. colleagues killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

In Sofia, the foreign ministry said a Bulgarian working for the U.N. died on Wednesday in Gaza, citing preliminary information. It was not immediately clear if the Bulgarian was the foreign U.N. staffer killed in Gaza.

Israel, which has vowed to eradicate Hamas, said its latest onslaught was “just the beginning“.

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