Israel launches deadly new strikes in Gaza, promising

Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip — Israel launched new strikes within the Gaza Strip, killing greater than 230 individuals, in accordance with the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run Well being Ministry, and promised “growing navy drive” after talks on additional hostage releases stalled, the workplace of Israel’s prime minister mentioned Monday. The resumption of Israel’s struggle in opposition to Hamas got here after nearly two months of relative calm in Gaza below a ceasefire the U.S. helped to dealer, however which Israel and Hamas couldn’t agree on the right way to proceed. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace mentioned in an announcement its navy is “at present attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist group all through the Gaza Strip, with the purpose of attaining the struggle objectives as decided by the political echelon, together with the discharge of all our hostages — dwelling and lifeless.”

“Any more, Israel will act in opposition to Hamas with growing navy drive,” the prime minister’s workplace mentioned.

The assertion mentioned Israel was resuming navy strikes due to Hamas’ repeated refusals to launch its hostages and its rejection of all gives it obtained from the U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.

“If Hamas doesn’t launch all of the kidnapped, the gates of hell will open in Gaza and Hamas’ murderers and rapists will meet the IDF with forces they’ve by no means identified earlier than,” Protection Minister Israel Katz mentioned. “We is not going to cease preventing till all of the kidnapped return residence and all of the struggle’s objectives are achieved.”

Over the weekend, Witkoff warned that Hamas should launch dwelling hostages instantly “or pay a extreme value.”

White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned Monday night that the Trump administration was consulted by the Israelis on their assaults in Gaza.

“Hamas may have launched hostages to increase the ceasefire however as a substitute selected refusal and struggle,” Nationwide Safety Council spokesman Brian Hughes advised CBS News on Monday.

The group representing the Israeli hostages’ households, nevertheless, condemned Netanyahu’s determination to renew the preventing, accusing him of a “full deception” and arguing that it could endanger the remaining captives.

“The households’ best worry has come true — the Israeli authorities has chosen to surrender on the abductees. We’re shocked, indignant and anxious concerning the deliberate disruption of the method to return our family members from Hamas captivity,” the Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board mentioned in an announcement. 

“Returning to preventing earlier than the final abductee is returned will come at the price of the 59 abductees who’re nonetheless in Gaza and may very well be saved and returned,” the group mentioned, accusing Netanyahu’s authorities of getting “refused to declare an finish to the struggle with a view to implement the subsequent steps within the [ceasefire] deal and return all of the abductees.” 

The discussion board dismissed Netanyahu’s declare that the resumption of preventing was supposed to safe the remaining hostages’ launch as “an entire deception,” saying the resumption of “navy stress endangers abductees and troopers.”

Taher Nunu, a Hamas official, additionally criticized the Israeli assaults. 

“The worldwide neighborhood faces an ethical check: both it permits the return of the crimes dedicated by the occupation military or it enforces a dedication to ending the aggression and struggle in opposition to harmless individuals in Gaza,” he mentioned.

Hamas additionally warned that Israel’s new airstrikes breached the ceasefire and put the destiny of hostages in jeopardy, saying that Israel’s authorities was chargeable for an “unprovoked escalation” in opposition to Palestinians.  

The strikes come amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and after almost two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month-long struggle the place dozens of hostages had been launched for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The primary part of the ceasefire ended March 1 however the pause in main preventing held till Monday.

However for the reason that first part of the ceasefire ended, the perimeters haven’t been capable of agree on a manner ahead with a second part geared toward releasing the almost 60 remaining hostages and ending the struggle altogether. Netanyahu had repeatedly threatened to renew the struggle, and President Trump had additionally issued a number of warnings and ultimatums to Hamas — some contradicting the agreed-upon phrases of the ceasefire — as negotiations on a second part of the ceasefire struggled to materialize.

Egypt, Qatar and the USA had been attempting to mediate the subsequent steps within the ceasefire.

Earlier within the month, Israel cut off aid into Gaza, stopping the entry of all items and provides into the Palestinian territory. Israel mentioned the help blockade was geared toward pressuring Hamas to just accept a proposal drafted by the Trump administration to extend the first phase of the ceasefire. Beneath the proposal, Israel had demanded Hamas instantly hand over half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which might have been a major change within the phrases initially agreed to below the deal brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt.

On Friday, Hamas said it had accepted a proposal from mediators to launch one dwelling American-Israeli hostage and the our bodies of 4 dual-nationals who had died in captivity. Netanyahu’s workplace forged doubt on the provide final week, accusing the U.S. and Israeli-designated terrorist group of attempting to control talks underway in Qatar on the subsequent stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

In a separate Friday assertion, Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed what he mentioned was Hamas’ dedication to totally implementing the ceasefire settlement in all its phases, warning that any Israeli deviation from the phrases would return negotiations to sq. one. 

The settlement had known as for negotiations to start on the ceasefire’s harder second part, through which the remaining hostages could be launched and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 dwelling hostages and the our bodies of 35 others.   

The struggle erupted with Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, cross-border terrorist assault, which killed some 1,200 individuals and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a navy offensive that killed over 48,000 Palestinians, in accordance with native well being officers, and displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s inhabitants. The territory’s Well being Ministry would not differentiate between civilians and militants, however says over half of the lifeless have been ladies and kids.

Whereas the ceasefire largely halted the preventing, Israel has left troops in Gaza all through the previous two months and continued to strike targets, claiming that Palestinians had been attempting to hold out assaults or approaching troops in no-go zones. Quite a lot of strikes earlier Monday killed a complete of 10 individuals, in accordance with Palestinian officers.