Israel on Tuesday resumed its attacks on Gaza, killing at least 330 persons, AFP quoted the Palestinian health authorities as saying.
The attacks, which began at around 2 am local time, are the deadliest assault on the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire took effect on January 19.
The head of the Palestinian health ministry, Mohammed Zaqut, told AFP that hundreds of persons have been injured and several of them are in critical condition.
The air strikes signify that Tel Aviv has unilaterally ended the ceasefire, Reuters quoted an unidentified official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as saying.
The attacks targeted densely populated urban areas, temporary schools, residential buildings and locations where displaced persons were taking shelter in tents, Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had ordered the air strikes because of Hamas’ “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu said. “The operational plan was presented by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] over the weekend and approved by the political leadership.”
Hamas stated that Israel’s actions were an “unprovoked escalation” that would put the hostages at risk, reported the AP.
The Palestinian militant group called on other countries to “raise their voice in rejection of the resumption of the Zionist war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
The United States was “consulted” by Israel on Monday before it began the air strikes, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
Brian Hughes, the US National Security Council spokesperson, told Axios: “Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 47,700 persons, including over 17,400 children. About 400 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict.
Some of the hostages were released in November 2023 as part of a brief ceasefire deal and some were killed as a result of the war.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19, Hamas freed 30 hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
On March 2, the Israeli government said that it had approved a temporary extension of the ceasefire in Gaza after the conclusion of the first six-week phase of its deal with Hamas. But it halted all shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza in an attempt to pressure Hamas into accepting its proposal for the next phase of the ceasefire.
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages,” the prime minister’s office had said. “If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences.”
The temporary extension was supposed to last till the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan in late March and the Jewish Passover period that lasts till mid-April.
Last week, the Trump administration had attempted to further extend the ceasefire and presented a proposal to both parties. However, the talks in Qatar allegedly ended without progress, with the White House blaming Hamas for rejecting the proposal, Axios reported.
Also read: Israel-Hamas ceasefire will not end war or bring peace
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