By Michael Koziol
It has been more than three months since Israel broke an earlier ceasefire agreement with terrorist group Hamas, which was negotiated under the Biden administration. That agreement began just before Trump鈥檚 inauguration. Israel and the US blamed Hamas鈥 refusal to release more hostages for the resumption of hostilities.
Since March 18, near-daily Israeli fire has killed more than 6000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israeli forces killed at least 74 people in Gaza overnight, witnesses and health officials said. One airstrike hit a seaside cafe in Gaza City crowded with women and children, Ali Abu Ateila, who was inside Al-Baqa Cafe, said. 鈥淲ithout a warning, all of a sudden, a warplane hit the place, shaking it like an earthquake,鈥 he told the Associated Press.
Dozens were wounded, many critically, and 30 people were killed, the head of the Health Ministry鈥檚 emergency and ambulance service in northern Gaza, Fares Awad, said. It was one of only a few businesses to continue operating during the 20-month war in Gaza and was a gathering spot for residents seeking internet access and a place to charge their phones. Videos circulating on social media showed bloodied and disfigured bodies on the ground and the wounded being carried away in blankets.