Israel shatters ceasefire; more than 400 Palestinians killed in IDF strikes

Palestinian health officials have raised the death toll from Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Telegram that the death toll from the airstrikes had risen to 404 from 326. It reported a slightly higher figure of 413 on its WhatsApp channel.

According to Gaza's health ministry, over 660 injured Palestinians have arrived at hospitals, along with many other airstrike victims who are believed to be buried under rubble. The Red Cross reported that many medical institutions in the Gaza Strip were "overwhelmed" following the attacks.

“What we heard from Palestine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza,” Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said at a briefing in Geneva, the Guardian reported.

Gaza's health facilities are experiencing shortages of basic medical supplies, including painkillers, due to Israel's ongoing aid blockade. Egypt, a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks, has condemned Israel's attacks as a "flagrant violation of the ceasefire deal."

The Egyptian foreign ministry rejected the Israeli attacks in a statement, “all Israeli attacks which aim to … make ongoing efforts to de-escalate and regain stability fail”.

It urged the international community to “immediately intervene to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip”.

Earlier this month, Arab leaders approved an Egyptian rehabilitation plan for Gaza as an alternative to Donald Trump's proposal for the effective ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the region.

Cairo has been a vital diplomatic centre for diplomats working on the next phases of the three-phase cease-fire agreement, which appears to have crumbled following Israeli airstrikes overnight. The first part of the ceasefire deal expired two weeks ago, but Israel has refused to implement the second phase, which called for an Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and the end of the war.

A spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry stated this morning that the airstrikes were launched on Gaza as “Hamas repeatedly refused the proposal to extend the ceasefire and release our hostages”.

“From this point forward, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military intensity,” Oren Marmorstein said, echoing comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of "repeated refusal" to free hostages and has rejected recommendations from Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for the supposed pause in hostilities.

Hamas says US 'bears full responsibility for Israeli massacres' in Gaza

Hamas claims the US "bears full responsibility for the massacres" in Gaza after the White House revealed Israel communicated with the Trump administration before carrying out the midnight airstrikes, which officials believe killed over 400 Palestinians.

“With its unlimited political and military support for the occupation (Israel), Washington bears full responsibility for the massacres and the killing of women and children in Gaza,” Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, said in a statement.

“The international community is urged to take immediate action to hold the occupation and its supporters accountable for these crimes against humanity,” it adds.

Several countries have strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes. Here are some of the latest reactions:

Maxime Prevot, Belgium's deputy prime minister, denounced the bombings, saying their "heavy toll" undermines the goals of the cease-fire with Hamas and makes the return of Israeli detainees less probable.

“The blocking of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians constitutes a serious violation of international law,” he added in a post on X.

Malta's Prime Minister, Robert Abela, stated his nation "strongly condemns" the Israeli military's "barbarous attacks" on the Gaza Strip.

Switzerland's foreign ministry responded to the deadly midnight airstrikes by emphasising "the obligation to protect the civilian population". “Switzerland calls for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” it said in a post on X.

The Kremlin expressed concern over the significant number of civilian casualties following the catastrophic Israeli attacks on Gaza.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, stated that the government "is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine," and urged both parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster.”

According to an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, the Israeli airstrikes are being launched "amid the ongoing blockade of food and medicine in the Strip and with the green light from the United States". Esmail Baghaei called the attacks a "continuation of genocide and ethnic cleansing" throughout the territory.