* Kills four hamas officials, PIJ spokesperson, 404 unarmed civilians
* Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, others call for permanent end to hostilities
* We’ve not shut door on negotiations despite renewed attacks: Hamas
World governments, UN officials, rights and humanitarian groups have expressed shock and outrage at Israel’s resumption of its deadly offensive in Gaza, which has killed hundreds of civilians in less than 24 hours, warning the assault could undermine a ceasefire that was intended to be permanent.
Muslim News gathered that no fewer than 404 Palestinians have been killed and 562 wounded as Israel launched a massive assault on Gaza, shattering the fragile two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.
Tuesday’s attack took place across Gaza, including in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, Gaza City in the north, and central areas like Deir el-Balah.
Many of those killed in the attacks were children, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said.
Gaza’s government media office also mourned four senior officials. In a statement, the office said Issam al-Da’alis, Head of the Government Administrative Committee; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry; Ahmad al-Hitta, Undersecretary of the Justice Ministry, and Bahjat Abu Sultan, Head of the Interior Ministry’s Domestic Security Agency, lost their lives in the Israeli attacks.
According to the statement, the four officials were killed along with their families in the Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also announced that Naji Abu Saif, famously known as Abu Hamza, the spokesman for its military wing Al-Quds Brigades, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his home and the home of his brother in the Gaza Strip.
Taher Al-Nono, a Hamas official, on Wednesday, said the group has not shut the door on negotiations despite the renewed Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip but insists there is no need for new agreements when a signed one exists.
Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.
Here is how the world is reacting to Israel’s deadly assault:
Jordan
“We have been following since last night Israel’s aggressive and barbaric bombing of the Gaza Strip,” government spokesman Mohammed Momani said, emphasising “the need to stop this aggression”.
Saudi Arabia
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement voiced “Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and denunciation in the strongest terms of the Israeli occupation forces’ resumption of aggression … and their direct bombardment of areas populated by unarmed civilians”.
Qatar
The Qatari Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli assault as “a blatant challenge to international will supporting peace, including the ceasefire agreement.”
It warned that Israel’s escalatory policies “will ultimately lead to igniting the region and undermining its security and stability.”
The ministry stressed the urgent need “to resume dialogue to implement the phases of the ceasefire agreement, leading to ending the war on the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt
Egypt, which is acting as a mediator alongside Qatar, called Israel’s airstrikes a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire.
The strikes constitute a “dangerous escalation that threatens to have serious consequences for the stability of the region”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
China
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was “highly concerned” about the situation, calling for parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster”.
Russia
The Kremlin warned of a “spiral of escalation” in the wake of Israel’s strikes.
“Especially concerning, of course, are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We are monitoring the situation very closely, and of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course.”
Iran
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the US has direct responsibility for “the continuation of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Turkiye
Turkiye said the attacks amounted to a “new phase in its [Israel’s] policy of genocide” against the Palestinians.
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is unacceptable for Israel to cause a “new cycle of violence” in the region, adding that the Israeli government’s “hostile approach” threatened the future of the Middle East.
France
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned the strikes, calling for “an immediate end to hostilities, which are jeopardising efforts to free the hostages and threatening the lives of the civilian population in Gaza”.
United Kingdom
The UK government called on Israel and Hamas to implement their ceasefire in Gaza “in full”, calling for all parties to “return urgently to dialogue”.
“We want to see this ceasefire agreement re-established as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said, adding that reported civilian casualties from the Israeli strikes overnight were “appalling”.
The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on Monday – before the strikes began – that Israel had committed “a breach of international law” by blocking aid into Gaza, in a significant hardening of the British position. “Israel quite rightly must defend its own security but we find the lack of aid … unacceptable, hugely alarming and very worrying,” he told parliament.
Ireland
Prime Minister Micheal Martin condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza and called on all parties to “respect the ceasefire and the agreement to release hostages and return to negotiations”.
“For the sake of all the civilians in Gaza, who have already endured unimaginable hardships, there must be an urgent end to all hostilies,” Martin said in a statement posted on X.
Belgium
“I call on the parties to implement the second phase of the [ceasefire] agreement, which must pave the way for reconstruction and peace for all,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X.
He denounced “the new Israeli strikes and their heavy human toll”, adding that Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Palestinians was “a serious violation of international law”.
Italy
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza put the prospect of a deal to release the captives at risk.
“We are following with great concern the resumption of fighting in Gaza… which jeopardises the objectives we are all working towards: the release of all hostages and a permanent end to hostility, as well as the restoration of full humanitarian assistance in the (Gaza) Strip,” Meloni told the Italian Senate.
Spain
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza and said he “can’t find the words to describe the situation in Gaza”.
“We must mourn and reject this new wave of violence and these new bombings, which indiscriminately hit the civilian population,” he told broadcaster Onda Cero.
Germany
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Israeli strikes on the enclave is a “cause for great concern”.
“The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. Fleeing children and internally displaced persons must never be used as leverage in negotiations,” Baerbock said.
Netherlands
Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp said on X that “all hostilities must end permanently”.
“The Netherlands calls on all parties to respect the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. All civilians must be protected, “ he said. “We urge all parties to implement it in full: the remaining hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must reach those in need.”
Norway
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said the Israeli strikes were “a great tragedy” for the people of Gaza. “They are almost without protection. Many of them live in tents and on the ruins of what has been destroyed,” he said.
Switzerland
“Switzerland calls for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” its Federal Department of Foreign Affairs wrote on X.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson that he is “shocked” by the Israeli attack, which has killed “a meaningful number of civilians”.
Guterres “strongly appeals for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be reestablished and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally”, the statement said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk voiced his horror over the intense Israeli strikes.
“This will add tragedy onto tragedy,” he said in a statement. Israel using yet more military force would “only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions”.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, condemned the attack on social media. “Awful scenes of civilians killed among them children following waves of heavy bombardment from Israeli Forces overnight,” he wrote. “Fuelling ‘hell on earth’ by resuming the war will only bring more despair & suffering.”
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Muhannad Hadi, described Israel’s assault as “unconscionable”.
The UN’s body for children, UNICEF, said, “The reports and images emerging from Gaza are beyond horrifying. Some of the strikes reportedly hit makeshift shelters where children and families were sleeping, proving once again that nowhere is safe in Gaza.”
UNICEF warned that Gaza’s one million children, already suffering from 15 months of genocide, are now trapped in even greater fear and danger. It urged Israel to reinstate the ceasefire immediately and called on world leaders to intervene before the situation worsens.
UNICEF has demanded respect for international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians, and the urgent delivery of aid. “The attacks and violence must stop—now.”
Defense for Children International- Palestine
“Today marks one of the largest one-day child death tolls in Gaza in history,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP.
“Israeli forces have signed a death warrant for Palestinian children in Gaza as they carry out nonstop attacks, continue to destroy civilian infrastructure, and prevent any humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in need. This is nothing short of genocide.”
More than 18,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, according to the Ministry of Health.
“The true death toll is likely to be much higher, and children continue to suffer from serious communicable and preventable conditions like hypothermia, malnutrition, dehydration, and scabies,” DCIP said.
Council on American-Islamic Relations
CAIR, a Washington, DC-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, said in a statement that it condemned Netanyahu’s government “for resuming its horrific and genocidal attacks on the men, women and children of Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians in a matter of hours”.
“Netanyahu would clearly rather massacre Palestinian children in refugee camps than risk the disintegration of his cabinet by exchanging all those held by both sides and permanently ending the genocidal war, as required by the ceasefire agreement that President Trump helped broker and that he must salvage,” the organisation said.
Save the Children
Rachael Cummings, Save the Children’s humanitarian director based in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, said the collapse of the ceasefire was “nothing short of a death sentence for Gaza’s children”.
The denial of aid coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan amounted to “a grave violation against children”, she said.
Australia
“There’s already been enormous suffering there [in Gaza], which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region.”
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