TRANSCRIPT
“Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that Israeli bombardments continue, resulting in many more deaths – hundreds, according to the local authorities – as well as mass displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Many of the casualties are women and children. This morning, evacuation leaflets were again dropped over Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in North Gaza, as well as eastern Khan Younis, ordering residents to leave their homes.”
United Nations Spokesman for the Secretary General Farhan Haq there, giving an update on the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
Within just 48 hours of officially ending the ceasefire agreement, health authorities in Gaza say the Israeli military has already killed at least 436 people.
According to health authorities, 183 of those were children and 94 were women.
Speaking to SBS from a hospital in Gaza is British Australian emergency physician Mohammed Mustafa.
Between the bombings, he told SBS that hospitals ran out of medical supplies not long after Israel started strikes.
“We need to get medical equipment in here, we ... Can you hear that? That's the bombs going off right now. It's pretty close by, but this has been going on relentlessly all night. I need the Australian public to realize the gravity of this situation. We need help. I need help. We need help and we need our government. The bombs are ... the bombs are getting quite intense. We need our government to step in and to help, or at least be the voice of reason in this carnage, that's going on right now. “
Now, as around 150,000 people in Gaza face new evacuation orders, Israel says its forces are launching a renewed ground invasion in Gaza.
The Israeli military says its troops will retake control over the Netzarim corridor, cutting off access between the north and south of Gaza.
Phase one of the ceasefire, which was agreed to by both Israel and Hamas, specifies both a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the reopening of humanitarian corridors.
Hamas says after cutting off all aid in Gaza and redeploying troops, Israel is in clear violation of both of these conditions.
But Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says attacks will continue until it is satisfied that Hamas is completely out of Gaza.
"Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning, the first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar will destroy it completely. The airstrike against Hamas terrorists was only the first step, what is coming will be more difficult, and you will pay the price. Soon, the evacuation of residents from combat zones will begin again, if they don't return the Israeli hostages and Hamas is not being removed from Gaza, Israel will act with force like you haven't seen before.”
Israel says attacks on Gaza have resumed because Hamas is rejecting a proposal to extend and change the conditions of phase one of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas, which has so far followed the terms laid out in the original deal, says Israel is avoiding its own phase two obligations.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says during the ceasefire, Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least 170 people before fully resuming attacks.
In Khan Younis, Ibraheem Abu Shatat says the little hope people had of rebuilding is quickly deteriorating.
"At Suhoor, planes started airstrikes on us, and people were gripped with panic, fear, and terror. As you know, we entered a ceasefire period where people's situations slightly stabilized. Suddenly, they tell you there is war again, breaking the ceasefire, throwing people back into fear and panic. Planes suddenly violated the truce, sending a barrage of fire and explosive bombs on people. This act is totally against human rights. As you can see behind me, destruction in every sense, there is no hope for rebuilding.”
The United Nations has reported that one of its workers was killed and five injured when a strike hit a UN building in Deir el-Balah.
Three of the injured personnel worked in support of the UN Mine Action Service, which works to mitigate and deal with threats posed by unexploded bombs left behind.
In a statement, the UN Office has reiterated that the blast was caused by an explosive being dropped or fired at the building.
Israel says it will investigate the death but says the blast was in no way connected to Israeli military activity.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli strikes were to blame.
The UN Office for Project Services Chief Jorge Moreira da Silva says any attack on UN personnel is completely unacceptable.
“These premises were well known by the Israeli Defense Forces and they were de-conflicted. And you know what does it mean de-conflicting, it means that everyone knew who was working inside the premises. It was U.N. personnel, UNOPS ... In my opinion, this was not an accident. It cannot be categorized as an accident. It is at least an incident. What is happening in Gaza is unconscionable. I am shocked. I am shocked and devastated by this tragic news.”
In Tel Aviv, Israeli police have dispersed anti-Government protesters with water cannons as they call for the return of the hostages.
The government’s decision to resume attacks, with 24 living hostages still believed to be held in Gaza, has added fresh momentum to anti-government rallies.
Chanting slogans like "It's time to topple the dictator", protesters are accusing the current administration of continuing the conflict for domestic political reasons.
Among the protesters is Alon Shirizly, who fears the renewed strikes risk killing the remaining hostages.
“The protest today is important, because our prime minister Netanyahu declared war against Gaza, against the Hamas, and in this war he will create the murder of the 59 hostages in Gaza that are still in the tunnels, they are waiting us to take them out and to bring them home but war will not do it, only negotiation will do it.”
The US State Department says a US proposal to renegotiate the ceasefire deal with new conditions remains on the table, warning however that the opportunity to accept is closing fast.
Despite the US and Israel placing blame on Hamas for the delayed progression, Hamas has fulfilled it's stage one obligations and says moving forward to stage two seems a non-option for Israel.
Looking forward, Dr Mustafa says without food, medicine or fuel entering Gaza, he doesn't know how hospitals will continue to operate.
“I think my biggest worry is we're going to get another event like the day before, and we're just not going to cope. We have people sleeping out on the tents in the hospital ground that are injured and sick. These are severe injuries that we're dealing with, we're dealing with children with skull fractures, open wounds to their heads, inter-cranial bleeds, open wounds in their chest, arms that are hanging on by a thread. We have nothing to deal with all of this. “
