Israel strikes in Gaza kill 330 so far, Palestinian health authorities say
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Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and Deir al-Balah
JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters/AFP) – The Israeli strikes have killed at least 330 Palestinians so far, AFP quoted Palestinian hospital officials.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes across the Gaza Strip because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire.
The Israeli military said it hit targets across Gaza on Tuesday, ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire that halted fighting in January.
Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian health ministry officials said many of the dead were children.
The military, which said it hit dozens of targets, said the strikes would continue for as long as necessary and would extend beyond air strikes.
The attacks were far wider in scale than the regular series of drone strikes the Israeli military has said it has conducted against individuals or small groups of suspected militants and follows weeks of failed efforts to agree an extension to the truce agreed on January 19.
Hamas said Israel had overturned the ceasefire agreement, leaving the fate of 59 hostages still held in Gaza uncertain.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of "repeated refusal to release our hostages" and rejecting proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," it said in a statement.
In Washington, a White House spokesperson said Israel had consulted the U.S. administration before it carried out the strikes, which the military said targeted mid-level Hamas commanders and leadership officials as well as infrstructure belonging to the militant group.
Negotiating teams from Israel and Hamas had been in Doha as mediators from Egypt and Qatar sought to bridge the gap between the two sides following the end of an initial phase in the ceasefire, which saw 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais returned by militant groups in Gaza in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
With the backing of the United States, Israel had been pressing for the return of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for a longer-term truce that would have halted fighting until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday in April.
However Hamas had been insisting on moving to negotiations for a permanent end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, in accordance with the terms of the original ceasefire agreement.
"We demand that the mediators hold Netanyahu and the Zionist occupation fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement," the group said.
Each side has accused the other of failing to respect the terms of the January ceasefire agreement, and there were multiple hiccups during the course of the first phase. But until now, a full return to the fighting had been avoided.
Israel had blocked deliveries of aid from entering Gaza and had threatened on numerous occasions to resume fighting if Hamas did not agree to return the hostages it still holds.
The army did not provide details about the strikes carried out in the early hours of Tuesday but Palestinian health authorities and witnesses contacted by Reuters reported damage in numerous areas of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings.
A building in Gaza City, in the northern end of the strip was hit and at least three houses were hit in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. In addition, the strikes hit targets in the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, according to medics and witnesses.
Much of Gaza now lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting, which erupted on October 7, 2023 when thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza.
The Israeli campaign in response has killed more than 48,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and destroyed much of the housing and infrastructure in the enclave, including the hospital system.
Gaza residents ordered to evacuate areas near border
The Israeli army urged Gazans Tuesday to evacuate areas near the border, after it unleashed a wave of deadly overnight strikes, the most intense since a ceasefire began in January.
In a post on X, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning to residents "specifically in the neighbourhoods of Beit Hanoun, Khirbet Khuza'a, Abasan al-Kabira and Al-Jadida". "These designated areas are considered dangerous combat zones... For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to the known shelters in western Gaza City and those in Khan Yunis," the post said.
Israel to fight on, says defence minister
Israel will fight on in Gaza for "as long as the hostages are not returned", Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday after Israel resumed air strikes on the battered territory.
"We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved," Katz said. Apart from the release of the remaining hostages, Israel's other main war aim is to crush Hamas.
EXTENSIVE STRIKES
Earlier, Israel's military announced on Tuesday that it was carrying out "extensive strikes" on the Gaza Strip, as ceasefire negotiations have stalled.
In a post on Telegram, the Israeli army said it was currently "conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip", adding that further details would follow.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in Gaza in response to the group's refusal to release hostages and rejection of all ceasefire proposals.
"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
A senior Hamas official told Reuters on Tuesday that Israel was unilaterally ending the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Hamas also said Netanyahu was exposing hostages in Gaza to an unknown fate.
US President Donald Trump's administration was consulted by Israel about the strikes, a White House spokesperson told Fox News' "Hannity" show on Monday night.
The Palestinian civil emergency service said there were at least 35 airstrikes on Gaza. According to medics, at least 40 were killed, including children, and 150 wounded.
Three houses in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, a building in Gaza City, and targets in Khan Younis and Rafah were hit, according to medics and witnesses.
The escalating violence comes amid disagreement between Israel and Hamas on how to sustain the three-phase ceasefire that began in January.
Arab mediators, backed by the US haven't been able to hammer out differences between the two warring parties in talks held over the past two weeks.
