Fighting In Gaza Resumes As Israel Pushes Civilians Further South

After accusing Hamas of breaking the temporary ceasefire and truce agreement, following a fatal attack that saw Palestinian militants open fire on Israeli civilians at a bus stop in Jerusalem last week, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has resumed.

The ceasefire allowed for the release of more than 80 Israeli captives, with ages ranging from three to 84.

The extended pause also resulted in more than 150 Palestinian prisoners being released, which sparked wider criticisms towards the Israeli authorities for holding the civilians captive without an official charge.

According to the official Palestinian news agency, an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) air strike hit two schools in the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday.

The school was being used to shelter those who have been displaced by Israel's bombardment of the besieged enclave and at least 50 people were killed in the strike.

As Israeli troops and tanks continued their invasion of the Palestinian territory, those who had been ushered to the south of the Strip saw bombs falling in southern areas.

Prior to the strike on the school shelter, Israel ordered Palestinian civilians and emergency workers to leave the main southern city – Khan Younis.

Hundreds of people refused to relocate, having already been displaced multiple times and noting that areas that have been dubbed as 'safe' in the south, have also been coming under fire.

Most of the civilians that agreed to evacuate Khan Younis, did so on foot.

Since October 12, when the Israeli military urged more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population to move to the southern region of the Strip, Israel has made it clear that its troops will continue to "eliminate" areas that they believe are "Hamas terror targets".

The WAFA agency also reported that one of the strikes hit the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City after Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry said that at least 15,899 people had been killed.

The attack on the Daraj neighbourhood was not confirmed and a spokesperson for the IDF said that Israel was looking into the report.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, 70 per cent of the fatalities have been women and children.

Israel has not confirmed nor denied the recorded death toll of Palestinians, but the military has declared that around 50 per cent of Hamas militants have been "eliminated".

The remaining half of Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation, is proving to be a difficult opposition to conquer – according to the IDF.

Since Hamas' on-the-ground assault of Israelis on October 7, more than 400 IDF soldiers have been killed in the conflict.

The IDF also reported that the Combat Engineering Corp's 601^st Battalion was severely injured in battles with Hamas militants when the fighting resumed in northern Gaza last week.

Last week, the IDF revealed the names of three Israeli militants who had been killed by the proscribed terrorist group on October 7.

Based on various findings obtained by Israel during its ground operation, the youngsters were named as "fallen soldiers held hostage by a terror group".

Amongst the young militants was 20-year-old Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, who was captured by Hamas during its unprecedented attack.

On Instagram, Ahimas's girlfriend wrote: "After 52 days of optimism and endless hope, it is all over."

"It was 52 days of expecting you to return, that I could tell you everything that happened at that time and you would tell me your story," she added.

Binyamin Needham, a British-Israeli soldier fighting for the IDF in Gaza, was also named by officials as being killed in action.

While the circumstances of his death have not been confirmed, Needham's family revealed that the young man had turned 19 just two weeks ago.

Orli Ferris, his sister, told reporters: "He had just finished his apprenticeship and was doing his professional training. We don't know the exact details of what happened, but he was only in Gaza for two days. He went in on Friday and died Sunday."