The international charity Save the Children has condemned Israel’s renewed bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, describing the rising number of child casualties as “excruciating.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Regional Director Ahmad Alhendawi said that after weeks of fragile hope and efforts to rebuild shattered lives, Gaza’s families are once again being thrust into fear and loss.

He emphasized that a ceasefire should mark a return to safety and recovery for children, not more suffering.

Alhendawi called for urgent international action to protect both the fragile truce and the lives of Gaza’s families.

“This cannot become the new normal under a ceasefire. A lasting ceasefire must mean safety, relief and recovery for children, not continued suffering. It must be fully respected and upheld."

Palestinians in Gaza have endured the deadliest 24 hours since the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas resistance movement took effect nearly three weeks ago, as Israeli warplanes unleashed a new wave of strikes across the already devastated enclave.

“We are pleading: stop this now. Protect the ceasefire, protect children, and give Gaza’s families a step towards the genuine peace they have been waiting for,” the regional director stated.

Israel’s latest onslaught has killed more than 100 Palestinians, among them at least 46 children, in a single night of bombing across Gaza on Tuesday and into Wednesday.

The airstrikes flattened residential homes and buildings and even targeted tents and evacuation centers where displaced families had sought refuge.

Hamas calls on ceasefire mediators to pressure Israel to halt its attacks

Meanwhile, Hamas, in a statement on Wednesday, called on the mediators of the ceasefire agreement to pressure Israel to stop its attacks and abide by the deal.

“The movement also calls upon the mediators and guarantors to assume their full responsibilities regarding this escalating aggression, and to immediately pressure the occupying government to halt its massacres and fully adhere to the terms of the agreement,” Hamas said.

The Palestinian group also accused the US of being complicit in helping Israel “impose new realities by force” in Gaza.

“The treacherous escalation against our people in Gaza reveals a clear Israeli intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force, under the cover of American complicity that grants Netanyahu’s fascist government political cover to continue its crimes,” the statement read.

The US.-Israeli genocidal war, which began in October 2023, has so far claimed over 68,600 lives in Gaza.