Israeli strikes in Gaza kill hundreds, threatening truce's collapse

Israeli air strikes pounded Gaza, killing 326 people, Palestinian health authorities said on Tuesday, threatening the complete collapse of a two-month ceasefire as Israel vowed to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.

The Palestinian militant group, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire and jeopardizing efforts by mediators to secure a permanent truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in response to the group's refusal to release the remaining hostages and their rejection of ceasefire proposals.

Egypt, one of the mediators in the ceasefire deal agreed in January, called for restraint and urged all parties to work towards a lasting agreement.

Air strikes hit houses and tent encampments from the north to south of the Gaza Strip, while Israeli tanks shelled across the border line into the east and south of the enclave.

"It was a night of hell. It felt like the first days of the war," said Rabiha Jamal, 65, a mother of five from Gaza City.

"We were preparing to have something to eat before starting a new day of fasting when the building shook and explosions began. We thought it was over but war is back," she told Reuters via a chat app.

In hospitals strained by 15 months of bombardment, piles of bodies in white plastic sheets smeared with blood could be seen stacked up as casualties were brought in. Officials from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said many of the dead were children.

The Israeli military said it hit dozens of targets, and that the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and extend beyond air strikes, raising the prospect of Israeli ground troops resuming military activities.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was horrified by the Israeli bombardment.

"This will add tragedy onto tragedy," he said in a statement. "Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."

Israel has halted aid deliveries into Gaza for over two weeks, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli media said Israel was opening shelters in multiple areas in commercial hub Tel Aviv to prepare for possible retaliation from Hamas or Yemen.

Israel's renewed intense pressure on Hamas came as tensions flared elsewhere in the Middle East, which has seen the Gaza war spread to Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.