Israel has launched its most intense bombardment of Gaza since January, with at least 308 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The airstrikes, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, hit multiple areas, including Gaza City, Rafah, and Khan Younis, as many civilians were having their pre-dawn meal during Ramadan.
Medical sources reported that 154 people were killed in the north alone.
The attacks follow a breakdown in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Israeli officials blamed Hamas for rejecting a US-brokered proposal.
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However, Hamas accused Israel of bad faith damaging peace efforts, and exposing the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Among those killed was Mahmoud Abu Wafah, Gaza’s deputy interior minister and a senior security official. The Hamas-run health ministry reported that many of the casualties were women, children, and the elderly.
Israel stated that its renewed offensive was in response to Hamas’s refusal to accept mediation proposals from US representative Steve Witkoff and other negotiators.
A White House spokesperson confirmed that Israel had consulted the Trump administration before launching the strikes.
Hamas has not officially declared the ceasefire over but has called on international mediators and the United Nations to interfere, denouncing the attacks as a “grave betrayal.”
The group warned that Israeli hostages could face dire consequences if the assault continues.
With Israel’s blockade on Gaza now in its 16th day, the humanitarian crisis has worsened. Food, medicine, and fuel remain blocked, leaving Gaza’s 2.1 million residents in desperate conditions.
Most of the population has been displaced, and about 70% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Hospitals are struggling to function as water and sanitation systems collapse.
Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that at least 121 people were killed and 150 wounded in Tuesday’s airstrikes, carried out by more than 20 Israeli warplanes. Witnesses described an unrelenting wave of bombardment.
The initial ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, began on January 19 but ended in early March when Israel refused to proceed with the second phase of negotiations.
Hamas has consistently called for a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire. Still, Israel insists that any deal must include Gaza’s complete demilitarization and Hamas’s removal—conditions Palestinians reject as surrender.
Recently, US envoy Witkoff proposed a “bridge deal” in which Hamas would release five Israeli hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, in exchange for a large number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Hamas agreed to release Alexander and the remains of four other hostages, but Israeli officials dismissed Hamas’s response as “unacceptable,” further deepening the deadlock.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 48,572 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The ongoing war and blockade have led to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Despite growing international pressure to end the violence, Israel has intensified its operations, with officials vowing to continue their military campaign for as long as necessary.