Dhaka, March 19 -- Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people on Tuesday, Palestinian health authorities said, shattering nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire began, as Israel warned the onslaught was "just the beginning."

Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas accused each other of breaching the truce. It had broadly held since January and offered respite from war for the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble, according to Reuters.

Hamas, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages Israel says the group seized in its October 07, 2023 attack, accused Israel of jeopardising efforts by mediators to negotiate a permanent deal to end the fighting, but the group made no...