Israel vowed on Tuesday to continue fighting in Gaza until the return of all hostages as it unleashed its most intense strikes since a ceasefire, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reporting more than 330 people killed.
Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to "resume war" after a deadlock on extending the truce, and warned that the return to fighting could be a "death sentence" for hostages still alive in Gaza.
The White House confirmed that Israel consulted US President Donald Trump's administration before launching the wave of strikes, which the health ministry 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.
"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," said the statement.
"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.
An Israeli official told AFP the military operation would "continue as long as necessary" and was expected to "expand beyond air strikes".
In a statement, Hamas said: "Netanyahu and his extremist government have 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, accusing the Israeli prime minister of using the conflict as a political "lifeboat" to stay afloat amid domestic crises.
Palestinian sources have revealed the names of several Hamas leaders killed in the Israeli airstrikes.
According to these sources, Abu Ubaida Al-Jamasi, a member of Hamas' political bureau and head of the emergency committee, was killed.
They also reported the death of General Bahjat Hassan Abu Sultan, responsible for internal operations in Gaza.
Additionally, Issam Al-Da’alis, a member of Hamas' political bureau, was also killed, according to Palestinian sources.
Palestinian media also confirmed the death of Mahmoud Abu Watfa, Deputy Minister of Interior for Hamas.
According to Axios, an Israeli official stated that the military kept its operational plan to strike Gaza highly secret and restricted to a small circle to surprise Hamas.
The official added that in recent days, Hamas was preparing attacks against Israel and taking steps to rearm.
'Hell will break loose'
Mediated 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 while both sides have since refrained from full-blown war, they have been unable to agree on the next steps for truce talks.
Israel has also carried out occasional strikes on Gaza, but not on the scale of Tuesday's operation.
In a post on Telegram in the early hours of Tuesday, the Israeli army said it was "conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip".
Mohammed Zaqut, head of the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, said "at least 330 deaths" had been recorded, "most of them Palestinian women and children".
He said there were "hundreds of wounded, dozens of them in critical condition".
Israel ordered all schools near the Gaza border to shut.
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 "the opportunity is closing fast".
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump's administration had been consulted ahead of Israel's Tuesday operation.
"As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Huthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay -- all hell will break loose," she said in the televised interview.
Deadlock
During the first phase of the truce agreement, 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.
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, which has controlled the territory since 2007.
The talks have been deadlocked, and Israel has cut aid and electricity to the territory.
"It's so hard for me to think about what they're (hostages) going through right now because I know that feeling," freed Israeli captive Omer Shem Tov said in a recently released video.
"It's a terrible feeling and it has to stop as soon as possible."
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in 1,218 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, while Israel's retaliatory response in Gaza has killed at least 48,572 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the two sides.
With AFP
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