The Israeli military warned Palestinians in northern Gaza on Thursday that they could not use the main highway to enter or leave the north, where Gaza City is also located.

The regime had maintained the blockade until January, when a ceasefire with Hamas took effect after 15 months of incessant strikes on Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to the ruins of their houses in the north after the ceasefire began.

On Tuesday, the Israeli regime began conducting military strikes again. Over 400 Palestinians were killed on that day alone.

The regime killed more than 70 Palestinians, including many women and children, as they slept in their houses in northern and southern Gaza on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new wave of airstrikes was “only the beginning,” and promised that Israeli forces would continue to pound the Palestinian territory with “full force.”

In a major escalation, the Israeli military launched what it called a “limited ground operation” to reclaim control of part of the Netzarim corridor, a key strategic strip of land that cuts Gaza in half.

As part of the ceasefire, Israel had withdrawn its forces from the area.