Israel’s military said early Tuesday it was “conducting extensive strikes” against Hamas targets in Gaza, further straining an increasingly fragile ceasefire between Israel and the militant group.
The Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip, with the aim of “the release of all our hostages — living and dead,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’’s office said.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” it said.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said that dozens of people have been killed and wounded and that there have been more than 35 attacks on homes.
“Our crews are unable to deal with the attacks due to limited resources and the dangerous situation,” Basal said. “We call on the world to stop this aggression.”
The strikes were the heaviest Israeli military bombardment in Gaza since the ceasefire deal was reached in January.
Hamas said the strikes violated the agreement.
“Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement and are exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate,” it said in a statement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News that Israel consulted the Trump administration and the White House about the strikes.
The latest Israeli military action follows separate Israeli strikes that, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, killed at least 14 people in 24 hours over the weekend. The ministry reported the deaths in a statement Sunday.
The IDF said Saturday that it had identified two Hamas operatives “operating a drone that posed a threat to IDF troops” and saw others collecting drone-operating equipment.
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal in January, the Biden administration announced at the time. Since then, there have been accusations of breaches by both sides.
The first phase of the deal — which included the release of hostages held by Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel — expired this month. The second phase, designed to release male hostages, is intended to initiate talks for a long-term end to the war.
Netanyahu’s office said in Tuesday’s statement that he and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz instructed the military “to act forcefully against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”
“This, after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the US presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators,” Netanyahu’s office said.
International negotiators have been engaging in talks in hope of strengthening the ceasefire deal.
Witkoff, the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East, dismissed a proposal response by Hamas on CNN on Sunday.
“The Hamas proposal is a nonstarter,” he said on “State of the Union.” Witkoff said the United States favored a “bridge” proposal that would include the release of five living hostages in return for the release of a “substantial” number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
“I’m not going to go into the specific details of what made it unacceptable, but it was totally unacceptable,” he said.
In Gaza, explosions could be heard at various locations, and ambulances were arriving at Al Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, The Associated Press reported.
The status of the ceasefire agreement in the 17-month-old war remained unclear.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on X that the U.N. Security Council will meet Tuesday and that Israel would “make it very clear” to the council that it needs to ensure the return of Israeli hostages if it wants to end the war.
“Israel will not stop until all of our hostages are back home,” Danon said.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel on or since the Oct. 7, 2022 attack. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says that more than 48,500 people have been killed there.
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