The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it started a series of ground operations in central and southern Gaza “over the past day” to create a buffer zone between the north and the south of the war-torn Palestinian territory.

It comes amid a massive wave of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that started early on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday, shattering a fragile ceasefire in place since January.

Part of the ground operation includes expanding the army’s control further to the centre of the coastal area in what is known as the Netzarim Corridor, a strategically important corridor. The idea is to expand the security zone, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on its Telegram channel.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Jerusalem to protest against the renewed fighting in Gaza as well as the dismissal of the head of the domestic intelligence service.

Several media outlets reported clashes between police and demonstrators, with several people said to have been arrested. Participants in a rally tried to break through checkpoints, the news site ynet reported.

IDF to continue operations

The IDF said it “will continue to operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”

In February, the IDF withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, with the exception of a 1-kilometre-wide area directly on the border with Israel.

This allowed Palestinians who had been displaced by the war from northern cities to the south to return to their homes in large numbers. The impact of the IDF’s expanded control on the corridor on Gaza’s inhabitants was initially unclear.

The military decided to station a brigade in its southern command area. The unit will “remain ready for operations in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.

Palestinian deaths

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip said that at least 24 Palestinians had died and around 30 more were injured in an Israeli attack in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

The victims were reportedly people mourning a slain family member.

The information could not initially be independently verified. The Israeli military said it would look into the report.

The Israeli Navy also struck several boats off the Gaza coast, which it said were used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terrorist operations.

Palestinian news agency WAFA reported “dozens of dead and injured” in an IDF attack on Gaza City. An IDF spokesman said on request that the military had carried out “a precise attack on a Hamas terrorist.” The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified.

WAFA also reported a suspected attack by Israel on a UN facility in Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip, resulting in at least one death.

But the IDF denied this. “Contrary to reports, the Israeli army did not attack a UN building in Deir al-Balah,” it said. The media are being urged to exercise caution with regard to unconfirmed reports, it said.

Israel blamed the renewed hostilities on Palestinian Islamist Hamas’ refusal to release more hostages amid deadlocked negotiations on extending the ceasefire.

Earlier Wednesday, WAFA reported at least 16 deaths. Two people died in a drone strike in al-Mawasi, a crowded tent camp designated as humanitarian zone, it said. Several civilians, including a woman and a child, were also reportedly killed in the city of Khan Younis area in southern Gaza.

The IDF said it targeted a Hamas military site in northern Gaza overnight, where preparations were reportedly under way for rocket attacks on Israeli territory.

‘RemoveHamas,’ Israel’s Katz tells Gazans

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the evacuation of people from combat zones in the Gaza Strip would soon continue and urged the population to “remove Hamas.”

In a video address, Katz said that airstrikes on Hamas targets were only the first step, and warned that what follows would be much worse, without giving details.

Katz told the residents of the devastated coastal area that they will “pay the full price.”

On Tuesday, the first day of the renewed Israeli offensive, the Hamas-run health authority reported more than 400 killed and hundreds injured. The authority does not distinguish between civilian and military casualties and the figures cannot be independently verified.

Airstrikes come two months after ceasefire

The resumption of Israeli airstrikes comes two months after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal that included the release of hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attacks in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip having since stalled.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced a resumption of fighting against Hamas, saying further negotiations “will only be conducted under fire.”