Gaza strip: Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight into Thursday killed at least 85 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The attacks, which targeted multiple homes while residents were asleep, resulted in the deaths of men, women, and children.

The Israeli military claimed the strikes were aimed at militant targets. Later, it reported that “projectiles” fired from Gaza had triggered air raid sirens in central Israel, marking what appeared to be the first rocket attack since Israel resumed its bombardment on Tuesday, ending a ceasefire.

In addition, the Israeli military reinstated a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, and warned residents against using the main highway in and out of the north, allowing only passage to the south along the coastal road. A new ground operation was also launched in northern Gaza, specifically near the devastated town of Beit Lahiya, where dozens had been killed over the past 24 hours.

Following the ceasefire in January, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had returned to their homes in northern Gaza. However, Israel resumed heavy strikes on Tuesday, accusing Hamas of rejecting a new proposal that deviated from their previously signed agreement, which led to the collapse of the truce. The renewed violence claimed more than 400 Palestinian lives on Tuesday, with a significant portion of the casualties being women and children.

In a separate incident early Thursday, the Israeli military intercepted a missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels before it reached Israeli airspace, with air raid sirens and explosions heard in Jerusalem. This was the second such attack after the United States launched airstrikes against the rebels earlier in the week.

One of the strikes on Gaza early Thursday hit a home in Abasan al-Kabira, a village near the border with Israel. The attack killed at least 16 people, mostly women and children, including a father and his seven children. A month-old baby survived along with her grandparents. The local European Hospital received the bodies of those killed, and rescuers worked through the rubble to find more survivors.

Hani Awad, a rescuer at the scene, described the destruction: “Another tough night. The house collapsed over the people's heads.”

The Israeli military stated that it had targeted dozens of militant positions, claiming to have struck a number of fighters and military structures across Gaza.