Israel vows to fight on in Gaza after deadliest strikes since truce

Israel vowed on Tuesday to continue fighting in Gaza until all hostages are returned as it unleashed its most intense strikes since a ceasefire, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reporting more than 400 people killed.

Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to “resume war” after an impasse in truce negotiations, and warned that the return to fighting could be a “death sentence” for hostages still alive in Gaza.

The strikes were by far the biggest and deadliest since a truce took effect in January. Hamas has not responded to the strikes so far.

Netanyahu warned Hamas this month of consequences it “cannot imagine” if it does not free hostages still in Gaza, and Israeli media reported on plans aimed at ramping up pressure on Hamas dubbed the “Hell Plan”.

The White House said Israel consulted US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the wave of strikes, which the health ministry in Gaza said killed mostly women and children.

Netanyahu’s office said the operation was ordered after “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators”.

ALSO READ: Israel attacks Gaza as ceasefire deadlock breaks, at least hundred killed

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the statement said.

“We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Apart from the release of the remaining hostages, Israel’s other main war aim is to crush Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas said Israel had “decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement”.

“Netanyahu’s decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them,” it said.

Hamas said the head of its government in Gaza, Essam al-Dalis, was among several officials killed in the strikes.

ALSO READ: 33 dead as Trump orders strikes on Huthis in Yemen

A Hamas official said the group was “working with mediators” to stop the bombardment, while the movement blamed what it described as “unlimited” US support for Israel for the deadly strikes.

‘Fire of hell’

In Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, AFP footage showed people rushing stretchers with wounded people, including young children, to the Nasser Hospital. Bodies covered with white sheets were also taken to the hospital’s mortuary.

Mohammed Jarghoun, 36, was sleeping in a tent near his destroyed house in Khan Yunis when he was woken by huge blasts.

“I thought they were dreams and nightmares, but I saw a fire in my relatives’ house. More than 20 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women.”

Ramez Alammarin, 25, described carrying children to hospital southeast of Gaza City.

“They unleashed the fire of hell again on Gaza,” he said of Israel, adding that “bodies and limbs are on the ground, and the wounded cannot find any doctor to treat them.”

ALSO READ: Hamas pushes for phase two of Gaza truce talks

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza pleaded with Netanyahu to “stop the killing and disappearance” of their loved ones, and called for a protest in front of the premier’s residence.

‘Hundreds of wounded’

Brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the initial phase of the ceasefire took effect on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

That first phase ended in early March, and the two sides have been unable to agree on the next steps.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the bodies of 413 people had been received by Gaza hospitals.

“A number of victims are still under the rubble and work is underway to recover them,” it added.

Israel ordered all schools near the Gaza border to shut for fear of attack.

ALSO READ: Trump threatens Palestinians in Gaza: ‘If you hold hostages, you are dead’

US envoy Witkoff told CNN on Sunday he had offered a “bridge proposal” that would see five living hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, released in return for freeing a “substantial amount of Palestinian prisoners” from Israel jails.

Hamas had said it was ready to free Alexander and the remains of four others.

Witkoff said Hamas had provided “an unacceptable response” and that “the opportunity is closing fast”.

Deadlock

During the first phase of the truce, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight deceased, and Israel freed around 1,800 Palestinian detainees.

Since then, Hamas has consistently demanded negotiations for the second phase.

Former US president Joe Biden had outlined a second phase which would involve the release of remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces left in Gaza and the establishment of a lasting ceasefire.

ALSO READ: South Africa condemns Israel for blocking aid in the Gaza Strip

Israel, however, seeks to extend the first phase until mid-April, insisting any transition to the second phase must include “the total demilitarisation” of Gaza and the removal of Hamas.

The talks have been deadlocked, and Israel has cut aid and electricity to the territory.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in 1,218 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, while before the overnight strikes, Israel’s retaliatory response in Gaza had killed at least 48,577 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the two sides.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

UN chief Antonio Guterres was “shocked” by the renewed strikes, a spokeswoman said, while UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “horrified”.

Both Russia and China warned against an escalation, while Egypt and Turkey condemned the violence.

NOW READ: Arab summit pushes back against forced displacement in Gaza

– By: © Agence France-Presse