The nearly two-month long ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict abruptly ended on March 18, after Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Over 400 people in Gaza have been killed since the conflict resumed.

The air strikes were accompanied by increased ground operations by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), one of which took back the Netzarim Corridor, a former “buffer zone” between the two regions. This corridor was one of the places Israel withdrew from at the beginning of the ceasefire deal.

According to Israel, the strikes were provoked by Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization that governs Gaza because of their refusal to release Israeli hostages. However, critics say that these hostages have even less chance of being released since fighting resumed and the move is designed to promote conflict before a possible election for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.