DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was striking dozens of Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January. Palestinian officials reported at least 44 deaths.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The surprise overnight attack shattered a period of relative calm and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.
In a statement, Hamas condemned what it called Israel’s “unprovoked escalation” and said it had put the fate of the hostages in jeopardy.
There was no immediate US reaction. But over the weekend, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, warned that Hamas must release living hostages immediately “or pay a severe price.”
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation, said Israel was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks. The official accused Hamas of attempting to rebuild and plan new attacks.
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the “gates of hell will open in Gaza” if the hostages aren’t released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said.
Explosions could be heard throughout Gaza, and Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 44 people were killed in the new wave of airstrikes. The territory’s civil defense agency said its crews were having a difficult time carrying out rescue efforts because various areas were being targeted simultaneously.
Talks on a second phase of the ceasefire had stalled
The strikes came two months after a ceasefire was reached to pause the war. Over six weeks, Hamas released roughly three dozen hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in a first phase of the ceasefire.
But since that ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward with a second phase aimed at releasing the nearly 60 remaining hostages and ending the war altogether.
Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, and early this month cut off the entry of all food and aid deliveries into the besieged territory to put pressure on Hamas.
“This comes 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 early Tuesday.
Taher Nunu, a Hamas official, criticized the Israeli attacks. “The international community faces a moral test: either it allows the return of the crimes committed by the occupation army or it enforces a commitment to ending the aggression and war against innocent people in Gaza,” he said.
Gaza already was in a humanitarian crisis
The war erupted with Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a military offensive that killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced an estimated 90 percent of Gaza’s population. The territory’s Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and militants, but says over half of the dead have been women and children.
The ceasefire had brought some relief to Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to resume to what remained of their homes.
But the territory is coping with vast destruction, with no immediate plans to rebuild. A resumption of the war threatens to reverse any progress made in recent weeks toward halting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
The return to fighting could also worsen deep internal fissures inside Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages. Many of the hostages released by Hamas returned emaciated and malnourished and described harsh conditions in captivity.
The released hostages have repeatedly implored the government to press ahead with the ceasefire to return all remaining hostages, and tens of thousands of Israelis have taken part in mass demonstrations in recent weeks calling for a ceasefire and return of all hostages.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.
Still, the deal has tenuously held without an outbreak of wide violence. The ceasefire’s first phase saw an exchange of some hostages held by Hamas in return for the freeing of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps in the ceasefire.
Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to follow the ceasefire deal reached by the two sides, which calls for negotiations to begin on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, in which the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.