Israel launches ground operation to reoccupy corridor which splits Gaza in half

Israel has launched what it is calling a "limited ground operation" to retake part of the key Netzarim Corridor, the strip of land established by the IDF which runs from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea and splits Gaza in two.

Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has warned that the army plans to step up attacks, putting an end to a two-month ceasefire "with an intensity that you have not seen."

In a statement Katz also said, "The air force attack against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. The rest will be much more difficult, and you will pay the full price."

Israel had previously withdrawn from the corridor in January following a temporary ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Katz also warned that the Israeli military would soon order evacuations from combat zones in Gaza and intensify its attacks on Hamas if the hostages, held in Gaza since 2023, were not released.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday's strikes were "only the beginning" and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims.

As Israel continued airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, the United Nations confirmed the death of one of its staff members and the wounding of five others in a strike on a UN guesthouse in Gaza.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services, did not specify who was behind the attack but confirmed that the explosive ordnance was deliberately dropped or fired.

The Israeli military, which has carried out a heavy wave of air strikes throughout Gaza since early Tuesday, denied earlier reports that it had targeted the UN compound.

But Moreira da Silva said that the Israeli military had been informed of the facility's location after the first strike near the compound and had confirmed on Monday that it was aware it was a UN premises where people were living and working.

He did not provide the nationalities of the casualties.

After the strike on Wednesday, the wounded were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where one man was carried in on a blanket and another received treatment for a knee injury.

Since the fragile ceasefire unravelled on Tuesday, no rocket fire or other attacks by Palestinian militants have been reported and Israeli bombing slowed down on Wednesday.

Since early Tuesday, 436 people have been killed, including 183 children and 94 women, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, while at least 678 have been wounded.

Gaza's Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.

The Israeli military says it only strikes militant targets and blames Hamas for the civilian death toll, arguing that they operate in densely populated areas.

According to the UN, the Israel-Hamas conflict has been one of the deadliest in history for their workers.

Israel stated that it struck militant sites, including a Hamas battalion's command centre on Wednesday.

Israel has maintained its focus on defeating Hamas, while Hamas demands a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war, which Israel has refused, instead proposing a new deal to extend the ceasefire and free more hostages.