At least 70 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign, a Gaza health official said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated,

A ballistic missile was fired toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, with sirens sounding in several areas of Israel.

Israel previously threatened Gaza with "complete destruction and devastation"​ if Hamas didn't hand over the remaining hostages.

The Israel Air Force has been conducting extensive strikes through the night in Rafah and Khan Yunis in Southe

DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Local health officials said Israeli strikes killed at least 85 Palestinians across he Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, bringing the total to nearly 600 killed since Israel shattered a truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages and brought relative calm since late January.

Over the past week, the Israeli military has pushed back into Rafah, launching air and artillery strikes, sending troops into several neighborhoods, and forcing Palestinians who had recently returned under a cease-fire to flee once again.

Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel's counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators' plan instead. Israel said on March 29 it conveyed to the mediators a counter-proposal in full coordination with the U.

The United Nations has said it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer and wounding five others.