Israel launched a new air strike on the Gaza Strip, saying it was a shocking Hamas target in the heaviest attack on the territory since the ceasefire in January.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered a strike due to ongoing talks to expand progress to the ceasefire. It is unclear whether the action was a one-time stress strategy or whether it was a complete recovery of the 17-month-old war.
“This is in Hamas’ repeated refusal to release our hostages and reject all the proposals received by the U.S. Presidential envoy, Steve Vikov and the mediator,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Hamas official Taher Nunu criticized the Israeli attack. “The international community faces a moral test: either allow crimes committed by the occupying forces to return or implement a commitment to end the aggression and war against the innocent people of Gaza,” he said.
In Gaza, explosions can be heard everywhere, and ambulances arrive at Al AQSA Hospital in central Gaza. The strike happened two months after the ceasefire paused the war. Over the course of six weeks, Hamas released about thirty hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, since the first phase of the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, neither side could reach a consensus on the way forward, the second phase aimed at freeing the remaining 60 hostages and ending the war completely. Netanyahu repeatedly threatened to resume the war, and earlier this month the entry of all food and aid into the encircled territory put pressure on Hamas.
The war broke out in Hamas on October 7, 2023, with a cross-border attack, killing about 1,200 people and occupying 250 hostages. According to local health officials, Israel killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in a military attack, an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population. The territory’s Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says more than half are women and children.
“From now on, Israel will take action against Hamas with an increasing military force,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The ceasefire has brought some relief to Gaza and allowed thousands of displaced Palestinians to restore what remains in their houses.
But the territory is dealing with great destruction and there is no plan to rebuild immediately. The recovery of the war could reverse any progress that has prevented the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in recent weeks.
Although the ceasefire largely stopped fighting, over the past two months, Israel has left its troops in Gaza and continued to strike targets, claiming that Palestinians are trying to attack or approach the troops in non-driving areas.
According to Palestinian officials, 10 people died earlier on Monday, many strikes died.
Two strikes in central Gaza attacked Brey’s urban refugee camps. A school provided shelter for displaced Palestinians, killing a 52-year-old man and his 16-year-old nephew, according to officials at nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The Israeli military said it attacked militants to plant explosives.
An earlier strike killed three men in Bureij. The Israeli military said the men tried to plant explosive devices on the ground near Israeli forces. The Hamas government, led by Gaza, said the people were collecting firewood.
Meanwhile, in Syria, Israel occupied a southern area after the fall of the long-time dictatorial Bashar Assad in December. Israel said it was a preemptive security measure against former Islamic insurgents, although their transitional government has not yet expressed threats to Israel.
The Syrian Civil Defense Agency said a strike in the southern Syrian city of Dala killed three people and injured 19 people, including four children, a woman and three civil defense volunteers. It said two ambulances were damaged. Other strikes attacked military locations near the city.
The Israeli military said it targets military command centers and sites in southern Syria, which contain weapons and vehicles belonging to Assad’s forces. It said the existence of the material poses a threat to Israel.
In Lebanon, Israel said it attacked two members of Hezbollah militant group in Yohmor, a small town in southern Lebanon, which said it was “observation agents.” The Lebanese National News Agency reported that the two were killed in a strike and both were injured.
The military later said it had carried out further strikes on the Hezbollah site in Lebanon, but did not specify where. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an American agent who went into effect in late November, ending a 14-month war between the two sides, both of which repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli troops have killed dozens of Palestinians, and the military says they are approaching its troops or entering unauthorized areas.
Nevertheless, the deal was not reached and there was no widespread violence. The first phase of the ceasefire saw some hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next step in the ceasefire.
Israel hopes Hamas releases half of the remaining hostages in exchange for a promise to negotiate a protracted truce. Instead, Hamas wants to follow a ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides, which requires negotiations to begin in the second phase of the ceasefire, a more difficult second phase, where the remaining hostages will be released and Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 hostages and 35 bodies.
