The attacks, the deadliest by far since a ceasefire came into force in January, killed over 400 individuals, said the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza. Israel’s lethal attack on Gaza prompted international outrage on Tuesday, stating that it had “no choice” but to resume military action in an attempt to bring back hostages.
The attacks, the most lethal by far since a ceasefire came into force in January, killed over 400 individuals, the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza reported. Israel committed to continuing to fight until all the hostages taken by Palestinian militants were released, while Hamas, which has not yet responded militarily, blamed it for trying to make it “surrender”.
Netanyahu threatened Hamas last month with repercussions it “cannot imagine” if it did not release the remaining hostages in Gaza, and Israeli media has been reporting on a plan to step up pressure on Hamas called the “Hell Plan”. Without the release of our hostages, Israel has no choice but to resume military operations,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated.
The White House indicated that Israel spoke with the administration of US President Donald Trump before it attacked, while Israel explained that a return to violence was “fully coordinated” with Washington. The United Nations and nations across the globe condemned the attacks, and the families of Israeli hostages called on Netanyahu to end the fighting.
Netanyahu’s office stated the operation was approved after “Hamas’s consistent refusal to let our hostages go, as well as its dismissal of all proposals it has gotten from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and the mediators”. Israel will, as of now, act against Hamas with growing military force,” said the statement. US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes attributed the blame to Hamas, claiming it “could have released hostages to prolong the ceasefire but opted for refusal and war”.
Hamas claimed Israel had “resolved to nullify the ceasefire agreement”, terming it “a decision to martyr the prisoners of the occupation and sentence them to death”. Hamas claimed its Gaza government leader Essam al-Dalis was among several officials who were killed. The leader of the group, Sami Abu Zuhri, explained to AFP that the objective of the strikes was “to undermine the ceasefire agreement and try to impose a surrender agreement, writing it in the blood of Gaza”.
