A BRITISH national has been confirmed injured in the Israeli airstrike on a UN compound in Gaza, the British Foreign Secretary has confirmed.
Israel made the chilling warning this week that it would keep pounding Gaza with airstrikes until terror group Hamas agreed to release more hostages “without playing games”.
Israel launched fresh airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza on Tuesday
Tanks were seen rolling inside the southern part of the strip
PAForeign Secretary David Lammy ahead of UK-EU foreign policy meeting at Carlton Gardens in London[/caption]
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that a Brit had been injured in the Israeli airstrikes, adding that the recent attacks on Gaza had been an “appalling loss of life”.
He told MPs: “Yesterday morning a UN compound in Gaza was hit, I can confirm to the House that a British national was amongst the wounded.
“Our priority is supporting them and their family at this time.”
Mr Lammy added that the attacks on Gaza on Tuesday night had caused the largest Palestinian death toll on a single day since the war began.
He said: “A number of Hamas figures were reportedly killed, but it’s been reported that over 400 Palestinians were killed in missile strikes and artillery barrages.
“The majority of them were women and children.
“This appears to have been the deadliest single day for Palestinians since the war began.
“This is an appalling loss of life, and we mourn the loss of every civilian.”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered Tuesday’s airstrikes because of a lack of progress in talks with Hamas.
Meanwhile at least 70 Palestinian people were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes today, a Gaza health official said.
ReutersA general view of the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis[/caption]
GettyInjured Palestinians arrive at the Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, after the strikes[/caption]
ReutersPalestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders[/caption]
Israel continued to ramp up operations yesterday when troops and tanks were seen rolling inside the war-torn Gaza to pursue what the Israeli military officials called a “pinpoint” ground operation.
And today, the Israeli military begun conducting ground operations in the north of the enclave, along the coastal route in the area of Beit Lahia.
The military added that its forces had been engaged for the past 24 hours in the ground operation to expand a buffer zone separating the northern and southern halves of Gaza, dubbed the Netzarim corridor.
Hamas had not retaliated during the first 48 hours of the renewed Israeli assault, but since said its fighters fired rockets into Israel.
It comes after reports claim that Hamas used the ceasefire as a cover to plan a new October 7-style invasion before Israel’s massive wave of strikes.
The Israeli security cabinet held an emergency meeting to discuss a number of alerts that point to preparations for invasion from the terror group.
Netanyahu’s defence minister said Israel had resumed fighting in the Strip while vowing to press ahead until all remaining Israeli hostages were released from Hamas‘ grasp.
Security forces have identified a steep increase in Hamas’s efforts to carry out attacks against the IDF in Gaza, potentially suggesting an aim to prepare for an assault, N12 reports.
And separately, Israel‘s Defence Minister Israel Katz raised in a meeting that despite a ceasefire reached earlier this year, Hamas hasn’t stopped plotting attacks.
Katz said: “There are constant preparations being made by Hamas for an invasion [into Israel], similar to October 7.
“We must strike them and completely finish the job through both offence and defence.
“This is the goal that drives me.”
But Hamas has slammed the claims, calling the accusations “baseless and false” in a statement on Tuesday.
It read: “The occupation’s claims that the resistance had made preparations to attack its troops are baseless and false pretexts to justify its return to the war and escalation of its bloody aggression.”
Israel has said that the ongoing strikes in Gaza are unrelated to fears of invasion but are in response to the terror group’s apparent unwillingness to release hostages and refusal to advance ceasefire talks, it claims.
Israel’s new blitz
By Rachael Bunyan and Sayan Bose
ISRAEL has said it will keep pounding Gaza with air strikes until Hamas agrees to release more hostages “without playing games”.
Netanyahu’s defence minister said Israel had resumed fighting in the Strip while vowing to press ahead until all remaining Israeli hostages were released from Hamas‘ grasp.
One Israeli official told CNN that Israel plans to gradually ramp up operations and the renewed offensive in Gaza will only stop if Hamas agrees to release more hostages.
Another official told the Times of Israel that the military now has a concrete plan “to move forward” their military campaign in the strip.
They added: “If at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive].
“At the moment, we’re left without any choice. Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out.”
Israel’s bombardment – dubbed “Strength and Sword” by the IDF – threatened to wreck the ceasefire in place since January and fully reignite the 17-month-old war.
Defence Minister Israel Katz warned: “If Hamas does not release all the kidnapped, the gates of hell will open in Gaza and Hamas’ murderers and rapists will meet the IDF with forces they have never known before.
“We will not stop fighting until all the kidnapped return home and all the war’s goals are achieved.”
The terrorists still have around 59 of the 251 hostages they first kidnapped with brute force during the horrors of October 7.
Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas targets across Gaza – ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire.
Troops seen moving inside Gaza for a new military operation