The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it was carrying out “extensive strikes” in the Gaza Strip against what it called “terrorist targets” belonging to Hamas, and the Hamas-run Health Ministry reported that at least 330 Palestinians had been killed, on Tuesday, the 18th of March, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
It was the biggest wave of air strikes in Gaza since a ceasefire was called on the 19th of January amid a failure to agree on an extension of the Gaza ceasefire.
Many were eating a pre-dawn meal as the holy month of Ramadan had started when the explosions began in Gaza, eyewitnesses said, adding that more than 20 Israeli warplanes flew overhead. The planes then began shelling targets in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the strikes on Tuesday morning, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“This came after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all proposals it received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators,” the statement said.
“FROM NOW ON, ISRAEL WILL USE INCREASING MILITARY FORCE AGAINST HAMAS,” IT ADDED.
The IDF “presented a strike plan over the weekend and the political leadership approved it”, the statement said.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, warned Hamas to release all hostages, saying “we will not be merciful to our enemies”.
Hamas reacted furiously, accusing Israel of treachery for not respecting the ceasefire agreement. It also claims that Israel is subjecting the remaining 59 Israeli hostages to an “unknown fate”.
However, Hamas has not yet announced whether it will resume the war, calling instead for the intervention of mediators and the UN.
Israel consulted the US presidential administration before carrying out the strikes, a White House spokeswoman told Fox News.
After the first phase of the temporary ceasefire expired on the 1st of March, the negotiators worked on a new agreement. The US proposed to extend it until mid-April, including more hostage and prisoner exchanges.
But a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC that Israel and Hamas disagreed on key aspects of the deal, which was set out by Witkoff in indirect talks.
The war between Israel and Hamas began on the 7th of October 2023, when Hamas killed more than 1 200 people and took 251 hostages in southern Israel.
The attack sparked an Israeli military offensive that has already killed more than 48 520 people. Most of the population of the Gaza Strip has also been repeatedly displaced. Some 70% of buildings are damaged or destroyed, health, water and sanitation systems are collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.