At least 85 deaths reported early Thursday from IDF strikes

Since Hamas won’t agree to the ceasefire deal Israel offered, Israel started bombing and ground operations in Gaza again this week. According to the health ministry run by Hamas, air strikes killed over 430 people in just two days.

Hamas claims that Israel’s ground operation, announced on Wednesday, is a "new and dangerous" break from the ceasefire that started in January. Israel began attacking again on Tuesday because talks to keep the ceasefire going didn’t work out.

Israel has warned that it will keep stepping up attacks in Gaza until Hamas lets go of the remaining hostages.

Israel says Hamas still has 59 hostages, and they think 24 of them are still alive.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they started "targeted ground activities" to make a "partial buffer between the north and south" in Gaza. They called it a "limited ground operation."

IDF spokesperson Col Avichay Adraee said troops were sent to the middle of an area called the Netzarim corridor, which splits northern and southern Gaza.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had "resumed combat in full force" and that any ceasefire talks would now happen "under fire."

Israel and Hamas were unable to agree on how to move the ceasefire past its first phase, which ended on March 1.

Hamas didn’t like Israel’s terms for a new ceasefire deal, but it did offer to free one living American hostage and the bodies of four others while mediators tried to save the ceasefire.

At the start of March, Israel stopped all food, fuel, and medical supplies from getting into Gaza to pressure Hamas. Israel said Hamas was taking the supplies for itself to use against Israel, but they didn’t show proof.

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. During the first part of the ceasefire, 25 Israeli and five Thai hostages were freed alive.

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Israel hit back at the October attack with a huge military campaign that killed over 48,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, before this week’s fighting started again, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel’s attacks have also wrecked homes and buildings across Gaza.

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