LONDON: On March 18, Gaza鈥檚 deadliest day since October 2023, Israel shattered the fragile ceasefire that had been in place since late January with a renewed wave of strikes, killing at least 400 people and injuring more than 560 in mere hours, according to local health authorities.

The raids, which Israeli officials claim are intended to pressure the Palestinian militant group Hamas to release its remaining hostages held in Gaza, targeted northern, central, and southern areas, in the wake of a three-week aid embargo during the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement issued on Telegram, Hamas accused Israel of attacking 鈥渄efenseless civilians,鈥� adding that fuel shortages, blocked roads, and the worsening humanitarian situation had resulted in many of the wounded succumbing to their injuries before reaching hospitals.

The militant group urged US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 government 鈥渇ully responsible鈥� for 鈥渧iolating and overturning鈥� the ceasefire.

In a post on X, Israel鈥檚 Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted his country was fighting against Hamas and not Gaza鈥檚 civilians.

鈥淏ut when Hamas fights in civilian dress, from civilian homes, and from behind civilians, it puts civilians in danger and they pay a horrible price. That is why we are urging Gazans to evacuate combat zones,鈥� he said.

Analysts and humanitarian agencies have condemned Israel鈥檚 renewed assault on Gaza. Amjad Iraqi, an Israel-Palestine expert at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News: 鈥淧alestinian civilians in Gaza are being collectively punished.鈥�

鈥淚srael has cut off virtually all aid, electricity, and water to 2.3 million people since early March, and is now relaunching devastating airstrikes and evacuation orders in hopes of either pressuring Hamas into further concessions or inducing Gazans鈥� forced expulsion,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he weaponization of humanitarian aid and basic necessities knowingly threatens the civilian population鈥檚 very survival and its ability to recover after a year and a half of a brutal war.鈥�

This assessment was echoed by Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency, who likewise described the aid ban as 鈥渃ollective punishment鈥� against a population largely composed of 鈥渃hildren, women and ordinary men.鈥�

The renewed blockade, in place since March 4, has left residents facing severe food insecurity, with prices for essentials at least tripling, according to residents of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.

The closure of all border crossings for humanitarian and commercial supplies has prevented the UN World Food Programme from delivering any supplies into Gaza since early March.

鈥淣o food, no medicines, no water, no fuel,鈥� Lazzarini wrote in a post on X on March 23. 鈥淓very day without food inches Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis.鈥�

In October, prior to the ceasefire, the UN warned that 1.84 million people across Gaza were experiencing crisis-level food insecurity, including nearly 133,000 facing catastrophic levels and 664,000 at emergency levels.

Aid workers, hospitals, homes, and schools serving as shelters have all suffered war damage. Airstrikes and artillery fire have also hit tents housing displaced people, a pattern the UN Human Rights Office, or OHCHR, says it has extensively documented since October 2023.

The Geneva-headquartered Medecins Sans Frontieres said in a statement that its teams were 鈥渉orrified鈥� by the resumption of air attacks.

On March 21, the MSF announced the death of one of its staff members, Alaa Abd-Elsalam Ali Okal, who was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on his apartment building in Deir Al-Balah.

The organization said it was 鈥渟hocked and saddened鈥� by the loss, which brings the total number of MSF staff killed since October 2023 to 10.

The US-based MedGlobal also voiced concern for its staff and international volunteers in the Gaza Strip. It said on Sunday night that Israel had bombed Nasser Hospital 鈥� one of the last operational facilities where its teams were working 鈥� without warning or an evacuation order.

The hospital, located in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was reportedly hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing at least five people and injuring several others. Among the dead was Hamas political bureau member Ismail Barhoum, who was receiving treatment at the facility.

The attacks 鈥渁ppear to be the prelude to a broader Israeli ground campaign in Gaza, and not just a shock-and-awe tactic to scare Hamas into accepting Israel鈥檚 unilateral revision of the agreed ceasefire terms,鈥� Max Rodenbeck, Israel-Palestine project director at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News.

鈥淭he Netanyahu government wants the optics of victory more than it wants to retrieve hostages. The price for this is hundreds more Palestinian civilians killed.鈥�

Indeed, Netanyahu has said the latest airstrikes are 鈥渙nly the beginning,鈥� vowing to continue the offensive until Israel destroys Hamas and frees all hostages held by the militant group.

Prior to March 18, Netanyahu accused Hamas of repeatedly refusing to release the remaining 59 hostages 鈥� 24 of whom are thought to be alive 鈥� taken on Oct. 7, 2023, during the militant group鈥檚 unprecedented attack in southern Israel that triggered the war on Gaza.

However, Hamas has denied rejecting a proposal from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, instead accusing Israel of breaking the truce by reneging on its commitment to enter the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

The militant group said the US 鈥渂ears full responsibility for the massacres鈥� in Gaza, after the White House confirmed Israel consulted the Donald Trump administration before resuming airstrikes.

Alongside Barhoum, the recent airstrikes have killed several senior Hamas officials, including Gaza鈥檚 top political leader and ministers. On Sunday, Hamas confirmed lawmaker Salah Al-Bardawil was killed in an Israeli strike on western Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Israel鈥檚 defense minister, Katz, warned on March 19 that Gaza would face 鈥渟ignificantly worse鈥� strikes if the remaining hostages were not released and Hamas was not expelled. Katz also suggested that Palestinians should consider 鈥渞elocating to other parts of the world.鈥�

鈥淭he alternative is utter destruction and devastation,鈥� he added.

The Israeli military has already mounted 鈥渓imited鈥� ground operations in northern Gaza. It said on Saturday that troops had begun operating in the Beit Hanoun area 鈥渢o target Hamas鈥� terror infrastructure sites in order to expand the security zone in northern Gaza.鈥�

Katz announced plans to 鈥渟eize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population, and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and soldiers.鈥�

The escalating military campaign has raised concerns about the safety of the hostages.

Hamas has accused Israel of endangering the captives鈥� lives, a view echoed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel. The forum expressed 鈥渟hock and anger鈥� at what it called 鈥渢he deliberate disruption鈥� of efforts to return loved ones from Hamas captivity.

This criticism aligns with broader skepticism about Israel鈥檚 strategy in Gaza.

Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst with the International Crisis Group, argued that Israel鈥檚 operation in Gaza 鈥渨ill not achieve either of its war goals: to defeat Hamas and to bring the hostages home.鈥�

鈥淢ost Israelis oppose resuming the war, many at least supporting a continued ceasefire to save the hostages,鈥� she told Arab News.

鈥淭he idea that military strikes will pressure Hamas to release hostages without an end to the war is unrealistic at best, and disingenuous at worst.鈥�

Public frustration with Netanyahu鈥檚 decision to resume the war was evident on Saturday night when more than 100,000 Israelis staged protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities.

鈥淎ll of this is happening as Netanyahu moves to fire his general security chief amid an investigation into advisers in his office, on top of his ongoing corruption trial and the looming deadline to pass the budget by the end of March,鈥� Zonszein added.

The greatest toll, however, has fallen on Gazans, who have endured nearly 18 months of violence and displacement.

鈥淐hildren and families in Gaza have barely caught their breath and are now being plunged back into a horrifically familiar world of harm that they cannot escape,鈥� said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children鈥檚 regional director, in a statement on March 18.

鈥淭his latest slaughter was on starved, besieged, defenseless families,鈥� he added.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have killed at least 50,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 113,000 others in Gaza, according to the enclave鈥檚 health authority.

Some 1.9 million Gazans 鈥� 90 percent of the population 鈥� have been displaced multiple times. When the fragile ceasefire began in January, hundreds of thousands returned to the rubble of their homes and neighborhoods.

However, the resumption of hostilities has forced war-weary Gazans back into a cycle of displacement, fleeing one danger zone only to be thrust into another.

鈥淭here is no resilience,鈥� an aid official in Gaza told The Guardian newspaper. 鈥淧eople 鈥� are in a very weak state, physically and psychologically.鈥�

The OHCHR warned that Israel鈥檚 continued block of humanitarian aid, Gaza鈥檚 catastrophic shelter crisis, and limited access to life-saving services will likely worsen the impact of mass displacement.

Shocked by the resumption of strikes, Gazans have turned to social media to share their stories of renewed upheaval.

鈥淐hildren鈥檚 bodies line morgue refrigerator floors; there鈥檚 no more room for the dead,鈥� Anees Ghanima posted. 鈥淗as the world really gotten too small to hold us?鈥�

Another Gazan, Khaled Safi, wrote: 鈥淭he war on Gaza has returned while they are fasting, hungry, asleep, and haunted by death at every moment.鈥�

With the situation deteriorating, a return to diplomatic solutions seems more urgent than ever.

鈥淭he parameters of the January ceasefire must be restored and linked to the Arab League鈥檚 鈥榙ay after鈥� framework presented on March 4,鈥� Iraqi of the International Crisis Group said.

鈥淭his framework is the only basis for a meaningful way to save Palestinian lives, return the hostages, tame Hamas under national and regional oversight, and restore a measure of stability.

鈥淒iplomacy and leverage from Arab states 鈥� particularly vis-a-vis the US as the main actor to influence and press Israel 鈥� will be critical in determining whether this can be achieved.鈥�