Relatives of two Palestinian children killed in Israeli night raids on Gaza bowed over their bodies, wrapped in blood-stained white cloth, to bid them farewell in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, amid grief and fear of renewed war.

According to the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, more than 100 Palestinians were killed in night raids across the Strip launched by the Israeli army after it accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10, which the movement denied.

Hundreds gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip to bid farewell to a number of their relatives. Many women wept near bodies wrapped in white, while men lined up to perform prayers before carrying the victims to their graves, chanting, “There is no god but God, the martyrs are beloved by God.”

In other parts of Khan Younis, civil defense personnel spent the night searching through the rubble using flashlights.

Many women wept as rescuers carried the bodies of their dead relatives on wooden stretchers or on their backs, before moving on to search another site for those killed or injured by the bombing.

In the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, people who appeared tired worked on Wednesday to search for some belongings under the rubble of a building that was leveled by an airstrike.

Among them was Munir Maimoun, who was rescued from under the rubble. The man, who had a bandage near his left eye, told AFP: “We had dinner and sat down, and suddenly all hell broke loose.”

He added, pointing to the rubble: “All these stones were on top of us. We spent more than two hours with them lifting the rubble off us,” while behind him men and children could be seen searching among the debris and carrying belongings wrapped in blankets.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, announced that at least 104 people, including 46 children, were killed in the airstrikes. This toll was consistent with reports from hospitals in the besieged territory.

More than 250 Palestinians were injured, including dozens in"serious or critical" condition, according to hospital sources.

"What we feared most"

The Israeli army announced on Wednesday the resumption of the ceasefire that was reached after two years of war that broke out following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

But residents in the war-torn sector did not hide their fear of a return to fighting, including Jalal Abbas (40 years old), a displaced person who lives with his family in a tent opposite Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah city in the central sector.

“The return of war is what we feared most,” he told AFP, adding, “Israel is creating pretexts. Every day they threaten a return to war and use the bodies as an excuse. It’s all lies.”

Abbas believes that Israel wants to “destroy what remains of Gaza and displace the people.”

Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement by not returning the bodies of the hostages quickly enough.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stressed on Wednesday that “any hand raised against an Israeli soldier will be cut off,” noting that the army had received instructions “to act decisively against every Hamas target and will continue to do so.”

The Hebrew state announced on Tuesday the death of a soldier in the Gaza Strip.

“Building our lives”

The shelling and night raids brought back to the minds of the residents of the sector the daily realities of war, which had barely ended a few days ago.

In the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, where the raids continued throughout the night, Khadija al-Hassani, 31, said, “The bombing did not stop, explosions all night. We had begun to breathe a sigh of relief and were trying to get our lives back on track, but then the bombing came back to bring back the war, the explosions, and the killing.”

She added with regret: “This is forbidden and a crime.”

Al-Hassani, who lives in a tent after being displaced more than once since the outbreak of the war, like most of the residents of the Gaza Strip, continued, “It’s either a truce or war!”

She recounts how her four children spent the night, explaining: “They didn’t sleep. They thought the war was coming back,” asking: “Are we doomed to live in eternal suffering?”