• Dozens of women and children among dead
• US president says ceasefire cannot be jeopardised
• UN rights chief decries the killings as ‘appalling’

CAIRO: Israel’s renewed air strikes killed 104 Palestinians in Gaza in what came as the besieged territory’s deadliest night of bombing since the US-brokered truce went into effect earlier this month, while Palestinians face accusations of breaching the ceasefire agreement.

Citing the death of a single soldier as a pretext, Israel launched a massive wave of attacks late on Tuesday across the densely populated enclave, with health officials and medical sources confirming the devastating toll.

The Gaza health ministry said that 46 children and 20 women were among the 104 people killed in Israeli strikes since Tuesday, a toll confirmed by an AFP tally of medical sources at five hospitals in Gaza.

For Palestinians on the ground, the renewed onslaught brought back the terror of a war they thought was over.

“We had just started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives, when the bombardment came back,” said Khadija al-Husni, a 31-year-old living under canvas at a school in Al-Shati refugee camp.

“It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war — it can’t be both. The children couldn’t sleep; they thought the war was over.”

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, Jalal Abbas, 40, accused the Israelis of creating false pretexts to resume their military campaign with a green light from Washington.

“The problem is that Trump gives them cover to kill civilians because they mislead him with false information,” he told AFP from his tent near Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital.

The Israeli military claimed its strikes were targeted and it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”, even as explosions continued to rock the Gaza skyline.

US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the truce that came into effect on Oct 10, dismissed the severity of the Israeli attacks and gave his endorsement for the disproportionate retaliation. “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” Trump told reporters. But he insisted, “Nothing is going to jeopardise” the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Hamas firmly denied any connection to the incident in the southern city of Rafah that Israel used to justify the strikes, and it reaffirmed its commitment to the US-backed agreement.

The Palestinian group said the Israeli “escalation will hinder the search, excavation and recovery of the bodies” of deceased Israeli prisoners, a key and contentious part of the truce.

The ceasefire, which halted a brutal war on Gaza, has been strained by a truce violations and dispute over the return of remains. Israel has accused Hamas of reneging on the deal, but the group maintains it needs time to locate bodies buried under the immense ruins left by Israel’s bombardment.

Tensions mounted on Monday after Israel accused Hamas of staging the discovery of remains. Israel claimed that remains of a prisoner recovered two years ago were planted by Hamas and presented to the Red Cross as a new finding.

Hamas has rejected Israeli claims that it knows where the remaining bodies are.

UN condemns Israel

Meanwhile, the United Nations condemned the killings as “appalling”, with rights chief Volker Turk highlighting that the strikes reportedly hit schools, homes and tents for internally displaced people within the Palestinian territory.

“Reports that over 100 Palestinians were killed overnight in a wave of Israeli air strikes mainly on residential buildings, IDP tents and schools across the Gaza Strip, following the death of an Israeli soldier, are appalling,” he said.

“The laws of war are very clear on the paramount importance of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.” Turk said Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, and would be accountable for any violations. “It is distressing that the killings occurred just as the long-suffering population of Gaza started to feel there was hope that the unrelenting barrage of violence may be at an end,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2025