Israel launched its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January ceasefire on Tuesday, killing 220 people, according to rescuers, and Hamas accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to “resume war” following a deadlock over extending the truce.
The White House confirmed that Israel consulted with US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the wave of strikes, which rescuers said killed primarily women, children, and the elderly.
Netanyahu’s office stated that the operation was ordered in response to “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all proposals received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and the mediators.”
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” according to the declaration.
According to an Israeli official, the military operation would “continue as long as necessary” and would “expand beyond air strikes”.
In a statement, Hamas stated: “Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement.”
“Netanyahu’s decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them,” it said, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the conflict as a political “lifeboat” to stay afloat amid domestic crises.
AFP footage showed people rushing stretchers carrying injured people, including young children, to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Bodies covered in white sheets were also transported to the hospital mortuary.
Mohammed Jarghoun, 36, was sleeping in a tent near his destroyed home in Khan Yunis when he was woken up by massive explosions.
“I thought they were dreams and nightmares, but I discovered a fire in my relatives’ home. More than twenty martyrs and wounded, the majority of whom were women and children.”
Ramez Alammarin, 25, described carrying children to a hospital southeast of Gaza City.
“They unleashed the fire of hell again on Gaza,” he said of Israel, adding that “bodies and limbs are on the ground, and the wounded cannot find anyone to treat them.
“They bombed a building in the area, and there are still martyrs and injured beneath the rubble… fear and terror. “Death is superior to life.”
– ‘Hell will break loose’ –
The initial phase of the ceasefire, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, went into effect on January 19, effectively putting an end to more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
That first phase concluded in early March, and while both sides have since avoided all-out war, they have been unable to reach an agreement on the next steps in truce negotiations.
Israel has also conducted near-daily strikes on Gaza, though not on the scale of Tuesday’s operation.
In a Telegram post from early Tuesday morning, the Israeli army stated that it was “conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”
More than 220 people were killed in Gaza, according to the civil defense agency, with the majority being children, women, and the elderly. The “aggression, aerial bombardment, and artillery shelling” injured at least 150 people.
Israel ordered the closure of all schools in Gaza’s neighboring regions, as the government announced increased military action against Hamas.
On Sunday, US envoy Witkoff told CNN that he had offered a “bridge proposal” in which five living hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, would be released in exchange for the release of a “substantial amount of Palestinian prisoners” from Israeli jails.
Hamas had stated that it was ready to free Alexander and the remaining four others.
Witkoff stated that Hamas had provided “an unacceptable response” and that “the opportunity is closing fast”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the Trump administration had been consulted prior to Israel’s Tuesday operation.
“As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Huthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay — all hell will break loose,” she said during the nationally syndicated conversation.
– Deadlock –
During the first phase of the truce agreement, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight who died, while Israel released approximately 1,800 Palestinian detainees.
Since then, Hamas has repeatedly demanded negotiations for the second phase.
Former US President Joe Biden had outlined a second phase that included the release of all remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, and the establishment of a long-term ceasefire.
Israel, on the other hand, wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, insisting that any transition to the second phase include “the total demilitarisation” of Gaza and the removal of Hamas, which has controlled the territory since 2007.
The talks have reached an impasse, and Israel has cut off aid and electricity to the territory.
“It’s so hard for me to think about what they (hostages) are going through right now because I know how they feel,” freed Israeli captive Omer Shem Tov said in a recently released video.
“It’s a terrible feeling and it has to stop as soon as possible.”
According to data from both sides, Hamas’ October 7 attack killed 1,218 Israelis, the majority of whom were civilians, and Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza killed at least 48,572 people, mostly civilians.
