Israeli troops recaptured part of the Netzarim Corridor that bisects the Gaza Strip and deployed an infantry brigade along the enclave’s perimeter, the military said Wednesday in a statement. It described the moves as part of a targeted ground operation a day after launching a wave of deadly strikes, and as the United Nations said at least one of its staffers was killed in an explosion at a guesthouse in central Gaza.
The military said the ground troops entered Gaza to “expand the security zone and create a partial buffer” between the northern and southern parts of the territory, much like it did during the course of the war, when it isolated the north for more than a year. It also said that the Golani Brigade, an elite infantry unit, would be sent to southern Israel and “will remain ready for operations in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel carried out a series of strikes Tuesday that killed more than 400 people across Gaza in the predawn hours, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military would act against the Palestinian militant group Hamas “with increasing intensity.”
“Negotiations will take place only under fire,” he said in an address, referring to the ceasefire talks that collapsed after the first phase of an agreed-upon truce with Hamas expired on March 1. Israel refused to negotiate the second phase, which was supposed to include a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, as well as the release of all of the hostages Hamas and allied militants have in captivity after abducting them during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
Hamas on Wednesday condemned the return of Israeli forces to the Netzarim Corridor, a band of military checkpoints south of Gaza City, calling it a “new and dangerous violation” of the ceasefire agreement that took effect Jan. 19 and that allowed Palestinians to freely move once again between north and south.
U.S. and Egyptian contractors who had been operating a vehicle checkpoint on the Salah al-Din Road, which falls inside the Netzarim Corridor, pulled out on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive matter. The decision to leave, at least temporarily, the person said, was made by the consortium of mediators, including the United States, Qatar and Egypt, who hired them under a provision of the original ceasefire deal.
Also Wednesday, at least one U.N. staffer was killed and another five injured after an explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired” at an accommodation building in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, the U.N. said. One of the slain aid workers was a Bulgarian citizen, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Video footage from outside a Gaza hospital where some of the casualties were treated showed the wounded bloodied and in pain. “This was not an accident, this was an incident,” said Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the U.N. Office for Project Services, whose team was at the site. “U.N. workers and premises should never be targeted.”
The explosions took place as residents reckoned with the possibility of a return to war and the Israeli military continued to carry out air and artillery strikes across Gaza, killing at least 27 people by noon local time, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 49,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, which began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
The U.N. said Wednesday that the explosions that killed and injured staff inside one of their guesthouses took place at roughly 11:30 a.m., and followed strikes on Tuesday that damaged the same premises, the location of which was isolated, and had already been deconflicted with the Israeli military. The facility was first hit at around 7:40 p.m. local time on Tuesday, damaging the roof of the facility, according to an internal U.N. memo seen by The Washington Post.
Teams from the U.N.'s Office for Project Services and Mine Action Service were inspecting the site Wednesday when it was hit again, twice within the space of about two minutes, the memo said, adding that two people were killed — one of whom was a foreign national — and six other international staff injured, three critically. A separate internal memo said that the second hit came while the injured were receiving first aid.
“What we do know is that an explosive ordnance was dropped or fired at infrastructure and detonated inside the building,” the memo said. “We don’t know at this stage what type it was. We don’t know if it was an air dropped weapon, if it was artillery of a rocket.”
The Israeli army denied that it had carried out any strikes but provided no explanation for what had happened. The Israel Defense Forces “did not strike a U.N. compound in Deir al-Balah,” the military said in a statement. Silva said that the U.N. was investigating the incident and that staffer members at the scene were still in shock. Some of the casualties had been grievously wounded in their eyes and legs, he said.
Gaza is one of the deadliest places in the world for aid workers. At least 280 employees of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees have been killed since the start of the war, according to the agency’s tally. In April, a string of Israeli attacks killed seven employees of the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, six of whom were foreign nationals, stirring global outrage and prompting President Joe Biden to tell Netanyahu that the United States would reassess support for Israel if it didn’t take immediate steps to facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza.
Israel again blocked the entry of food, fuel and other supplies earlier this month to pressure Hamas to release more hostages but without talks to negotiate a permanent end to the war.
“Soon, the evacuation of civilians from combat zones will resume, and what comes next will be far more difficult. And you will pay the full price,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday in a recorded statement to Gaza residents. “Return the hostages and remove Hamas — the alternative is total destruction and devastation,” he said.
Hamas and its militant ally, Islamic Jihad, still have 59 hostages in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. The family members of the hostages have repeatedly called for a deal to secure their release, and many were angry over Netanyahu’s decision to resume the conflict.
Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of a far-right party, rejoined Israel’s government Wednesday after resigning in protest over the ceasefire with Hamas. Crowds massed in Jerusalem, where they marched on Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and to Netanyahu’s heavily-protected residence on Gaza Street in the upscale neighborhood of Rehavia.
“The hostages have been in Gaza for too many days — the blood is on the government’s hands,” the demonstrators chanted.
Several prominent Israeli figures were in the crowd, including opposition politician Yair Lapid. Achinoam Nini, a popular singer known professionally as Noa, told the crowd that it was “inconceivable that our brothers are languishing in tunnels in Gaza, and we are not getting them out immediately” and said that Israel had to care for its neighbors.
“If they are not doing well, then neither will we,” she said.
Loveluck reported from London, Cheeseman from Beirut and Soroka from Jerusalem. Hazem Balousha in Toronto and Gerry Shih in Jerusalem contributed.