Israel has unilaterally ended the Gaza ceasefire agreement, launching a massive wave of airstrikes overnight that killed at least 404 people and wounded more than 560 others — numbers that are expected to rise with scores of victims still trapped under rubble. The attacks began without warning, though earlier today Israel’s military warned residents in several of Gaza’s border regions to “evacuate immediately” after declaring their neighborhoods to be “dangerous combat zones.” Survivors of the assault said entire families were wiped out, with children and the elderly among the dead.
Gazan eyewitness: “Almost the entire family was martyred, all of them in pieces, and our house collapsed on us. Our house is directly next to theirs. There are also injuries at the Sattari house. They are still pulling people out from under the rubble. We were sleeping, just before suhoor, breakfast, and the house almost fell on us.”
The White House said Israel gave the U.S. advance warning about the renewed assault on Gaza. Even before the airstrikes, Palestinians were suffering from more than two weeks of an Israeli-imposed blockade on all fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza. On Sunday, UNICEF reported a third of young children in northern Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition, adding, “1 million children are living without the very basics they need to survive — yet again.” After headlines, we’ll get the latest from Gaza.