Israel has launched “extensive strikes” in Gaza, saying it was hitting Hamas targets as a two-month ceasefire collapsed amid persistent differences between the warring parties over extending the truce.
Health authorities in the Hamas-controlled enclave said at least 240 people were killed in the air strikes early on Tuesday, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said were launched in response to the Palestinian militant group’s “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and rejection of mediators’ proposals in talks to prolong the ceasefire.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said in a post on social media platform X.
An Israeli official said the new offensive, the most intensive military action since the ceasefire deal was reached in January, targeted “Hamas mid-ranking military commanders, leadership officials and terrorist infrastructure”.
The official added that the campaign would “continue for as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes” into a renewed ground invasion of the shattered territory.
Hamas condemned Israel’s “treacherous aggression on Gaza”, adding in a statement: “Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate.”
The Israeli attacks came amid a flare-up in tensions across the region, including US military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen ordered by President Donald Trump in recent days.
The Trump administration said it had been consulted by Israel ahead of the strikes on Gaza.
“Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
The six-week “first stage” of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which involved the return of more than 30 Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for Israel’s release of about 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, officially ended on March 1.
International mediators including the US have been trying to extend the truce and secure the release of the 59 additional hostages still held by Hamas, less than half of whom are still believed to be alive.
“Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead chose refusal and war,” Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, told the Financial Times.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, told CBS on Sunday that “the recent experience we had with Hamas’s response was not encouraging”.
He added: “We put a very sensible proposal on the table that was intended as a bridge to get to a final discussion and final resolution here that would have incorporated some sort of demilitarisation of Hamas.”
Israel and the US have demanded the release of between five and 11 live hostages to extend the ceasefire through the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and the Jewish festival of Passover next month.
Hamas said late last week that it was willing to release five Israeli captives, only one of whom is believed to still be alive. Israel dismissed the offer as “manipulation,” while Witkoff said it was “entirely impractical” and that a deadline had been set for Hamas to respond more positively.
Israel early this month halted all aid shipments into Gaza and subsequently cut off the last electrical power line into the besieged enclave. Israeli officials have also threatened to sever the territory’s water supply.
Trump warned Hamas early this month that “it is OVER for you” unless the group released the remaining hostages, adding that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job”.
“Not a single Hamas member will be safe,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “This is your last warning!” he added. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
On the presidential campaign trail last year, Trump promised US voters that he would bring peace to the Middle East.
Israel returned to the negotiating table last week, dispatching a team to Doha for the first talks since Trump took office, after direct talks between Washington and Hamas stalled. Talks are being mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
Israel has consistently refused to engage in serious talks over starting the second stage of the ceasefire, which would involve the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a permanent end to the war and the release of all the remaining Israeli hostages.
Netanyahu has insisted that he will not end the war until Hamas is completely “destroyed” and has vowed to secure the return of all Israelis still held captive in Gaza.
The prime minister on Sunday fired Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, in a move that has threatened to reignite a deep domestic crisis between the branches of the government.
Anti-government demonstrators are planning rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem over the coming days to protest against what they view as a dangerous and illegal move by the Netanyahu government.
Oil prices were steady on Tuesday during Asian trading, with Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, edging up 0.3 per cent to $71.28 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, rose 0.2 per cent to $67.72 per barrel.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington and William Sandlund in Hong Kong
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