In the early hours of Tuesday, families in Gaza were shaken awake by the return of ferocious bombardment from the air and land. The tense calm of a fragile ceasefire – brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt and in place since January – had been shattered.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the renewed offensive, vowing that Israel will “from now on act against Hamas with increasing military strength”, blaming the group for its “repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals”.
