Gaza City, Gaza - Long lines of fleeing civilians filled the roads of Gaza Wednesday as Israel added mass forced displacement to the list of atrocities committed since it torched the ceasefire agreement with Hamas the day before.

The war death toll updated daily by the Gaza health ministry showed an increase of 970 in the space of 48 hours as Israeli airstrikes pummeled the largely destroyed territory.

Among the dead was a UN employee, killed when a UN building in Deir el-Balah was hit, a source told AFP.

Terrorized families with young children fled northern Gaza for areas further south, fearing for their lives after Israel ordered civilians to leave areas it described as "combat zones."

Joke of the Day Joke of the Day for March 18, 2025: Funny animal jokes to make you laugh

A Hamas official said the group was open to talks on getting the ceasefire back on track but rejected Israeli demands to renegotiate the three-stage deal agreed with Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators.

But Israel on Wednesday announced it was effectively launching another ground invasion, again cutting Gaza in half to create a "partial buffer."

Backed by the US, Israel has sought to unilaterally change the terms of the ceasefire deal by extending phase one of the agreement, in order to avoid progressing to negotiations over a permanent end to its war on Gaza.

Even before embarking on Tuesday's massacre – in which more than 180 children were killed – Israeli forces had routinely violated the deal by continuing to target Palestinians and, as of the beginning of March, blocking the entry of all aid into Gaza.

Numerous legal experts, international organizations, and human rights advocates have concluded that Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity have passed the threshold of genocide.