DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA—The U.S.-backed Israeli government resumed its intense genocidal attacks on Gaza early Tuesday morning, unleashing a massive wave of indiscriminate military strikes across the Strip and killing more than 410 people, including scores of children and women, according to local health officials. The massacre resulted in one of the largest single-day death tolls of the past 17 months, and also killed several members of Gaza’s government and a member of Hamas’s political bureau. The Trump administration said it was briefed ahead of the strikes, which began at approximately 2 a.m. local time, and that the U.S. fully supports Israel’s attacks.

“The sky was filled with drones, quadcopters, helicopters, F-16 and F-35 warplanes. The firing from the tanks and vehicles didn’t stop,” said Abubaker Abed, a contributing journalist for Drop Site News who reports from Deir al-Balah, Gaza. “I didn’t sleep last night. I had a pang in my heart that something awful would happen. At 2 a.m., I tried to close my eyes. Once it happened, four explosions shook my home. The sky turned red and became heavily shrouded with plumes of smoke.”

Abubaker said Israel’s attacks began last night with four strikes in Deir al-Balah. “Mothers’ wails and children’s screams echoed painfully in my ears. They struck a house near us. I didn’t know who to call. I couldn’t feel my knees. I was shivering with fear, and my family were harshly awakened,” he said. “My mother couldn’t take a breath. My father searched around for me. We gathered in the middle of our home, knowing our end may be near. That’s the same feeling we have had for the 16 months of intense bombings and attacks. The nightmare has chased us again.”