The first ground offensive has been launched by Israel since the collapse of Gaza ceasefire, partially recapturing the main  area

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it had initiated "targeted ground activities" in Gaza, recapturing part of a critical area in the region, following airstrikes that broke the two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas. This operation followed Israel's renewed bombardment of Gaza, which ended the fragile truce with Hamas. Israel accused Hamas of repeatedly refusing to free hostages and rejecting mediation offers. Hamas, in return, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of unilaterally breaking the ceasefire and endangering the hostages.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its troops began operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip to expand a security zone and create a partial buffer between the northern and southern regions of Gaza. As part of this ground offensive, Israeli forces gained further control of the Netzarim Corridor. Hamas labeled this new offensive as a "dangerous breach" of the ceasefire agreement, reaffirming its commitment to the truce signed with Israel in January. Under this agreement, Israel had withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor, a key strip dividing Gaza into northern and southern parts, though foreign military contractors continued to manage checkpoints along the area.

Following the ceasefire, large numbers of Palestinians used the corridor to return to their homes that had been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes killed over 400 people in Gaza, marking one of the deadliest days of the conflict, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

On Wednesday, the United Nations reported that one of its international aid workers was killed by an "explosive ordnance" at a UN guesthouse in central Gaza, with five others injured. The Palestinian Health Ministry blamed the Israeli military for the attack, although the IDF denied involvement, stating no airstrikes had been carried out near the guesthouse.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), said that the guesthouse, located in Deir al-Balah, was known to the IDF and had been targeted multiple times this week. He emphasized that such attacks on humanitarian sites are violations of international law. The Israeli foreign ministry later confirmed that a Bulgarian citizen working for the UN was killed, though it was unclear if this was the same person referred to by the UN.