Over 300 Palestinians killed in Gaza

At least 342 Palestinians have been killed 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.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, said it viewed Israel’s attacks as a unilateral cancellation of the ceasefire that began on January 19.

It called on people in Arab and Islamic nations, along with the “free people of the world”, to take to the streets to protest the assault.

Hamas said Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group accused Israel of “deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire”.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to take “strong action” against Hamas over its refusal to release captives taken from Israel or agree to offers to extend the ceasefire.