In Gaza, Palestinians have been burying their dead.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, Alaa Abu Hihal stands cradling his baby son Mohammed in his arms.
The child’s tiny face peeps out of a white shroud.
Mohammed was one of more than 170 children killed in Israel’s renewed bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday, which shattered the ceasefire deal in place for the past two months.
Alaa’s wife lies in a body bag at his feet. She was just 20.
“We only got married two years ago,” Alaa says. “She was seven months pregnant when she was killed.”
Israel says it broke the ceasefire because Hamas was stalling for time over the release of Israeli hostages. It accuses Hamas of hiding behind civilians and of preparing to attack Israel again.
Israel’s military does not allow foreign journalists uncontrolled access to Gaza. From Jerusalem I spoke to Dr Morgan McMonagle, an Irish trauma surgeon who is volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the doctor says he worked flat out from 02:30 in the morning, when Israel’s assault began, to late at night. He estimated 40% of the dead and injured he saw were children.
“All I can do is report as a simple humanitarian surgeon on the ground, there is a disproportionate number of children being injured and killed, and women,” he says.
“And I think any reasonable person can see that it’s disproportionate.”
Karam Tafeek Hameid lost his three boys on Tuesday in the Israeli attack: Hassan who was nine, Mohammad aged eight, and Aziz who was just five.
“They used to play around, have fun, most of all they loved to ride with me on my tuktuk,” Karam says with tears in his eyes.
“They wanted to be doctors, teachers.”
Israel says Hamas exaggerates the number of Palestinians who are killed and injured. But the United Nations views the Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health figures as reliable. Some experts believe the number of people killed in Gaza over the past 18 months of war has in fact been underestimated.
Dr McMonagle says he has no reason to believe the Ministry of Health figures are wrong.
“I try to avoid the propaganda because propaganda drives war… but I can tell you over 70 people (at Nasser Hospital) went straight to the mortuary yesterday, and many of them were children. I saw them.
“I am not privy to the official figures but what I can tell you from senior figures at the hospital is that 40% of the dead and injured were women and children.”
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz suggested Tuesday’s assault was just the beginning if Hamas didn’t return the hostages.
“If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not eliminated from Gaza – Israel will act with forces you have never seen before,” Katz said.
He again said Gazans should relocate to neighbouring countries as US President Donald Trump has suggested. An idea that has been entirely rejected by Palestinians, and much of the Arab world.
