Israel has apparently broken the ceasefire in Gaza. After several sporadic attacks in recent days, at dawn on Tuesday, a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza killed over 300 people, according to local hospitals. The death toll is based on records from seven hospitals and does not include bodies brought to other, smaller health centers. Rescuers are still searching for the dead and wounded.
The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes due to a lack of progress in ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire. He accused Hamas of the “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and of rejecting proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” a statement read.
Strikes have been reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah in central and southern Gaza.
The Israeli military has ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza and move toward the center of the territory, orders that suggest Israel is preparing to launch new ground operations.
Despite pleas from the families of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, who are calling for a second phase of the ceasefire to secure the return of their loved ones, Israel has stated that it will continue fighting in Gaza “until the hostages are returned.” This was affirmed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz after the resumption of airstrikes on the already devastated territory of Gaza.
“We will not stop fighting until the hostages are returned home and all our war aims are achieved,” Katz said. Besides the release of the remaining hostages, Israel’s other main war objective is to destroy Hamas.
However, the Hostages and Missing Person Families Forum released a statement condemning the renewed attacks in Gaza. “The claim that the war is being restarted to free the hostages is a complete deception: military pressure endangers the hostages and soldiers,” the statement read. “We must return to the ceasefire.”
Hamas, for its part, has warned that Israel’s new airstrikes violate the ceasefire and endanger the fate of the hostages. A senior Hamas official stated that Netanyahu’s decision to launch widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages. In a statement issued early Tuesday, Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, accused Netanyahu of resuming the war to try to save his far-right governing coalition.
Two Hamas sources told the Agence France-Presse that the attacks on Gaza City killed General Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the head of the extremist movement’s police, the Interior Ministry, and internal security services in the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza since the start of the conflict—on October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out its bloody incursion into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage—has exceeded 48,000 according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. However, the true toll could be much higher, possibly double, not counting deaths from infections and malnutrition in this sealed-off territory from which escape is impossible.
