A massive IDF attack on the Gaza Strip killed more than 400 Palestinians in just 24 hours on Tuesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiations with Hamas will now only be conducted under fire.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because Hamas rejected an offer to extend the ceasefire. The prime minister called on Gazans to leave the risky area by moving to safer neighbourhoods and blamed Hamas for all civilian casualties.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing force. And from now on, negotiations will only take place under fire … And I want to assure you that this is just the beginning,” he said, speaking from a military base in Tel Aviv.
Hamas is still reportedly holding 59 people of the 250 hostages the group seized on October 7, 2023.
The IDF began bombing the Gaza Strip again after Hamas reneged on a deal to release the remaining hostages.
Four days ago, Hamas militants said they had accepted the mediators’ offer to release one living hostage with US and Israeli citizenship and hand over the bodies of four other hostages with dual citizenship who died in captivity.
In the first phase, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages as well as five Thai nationals outside the deal. In exchange, Israel released about 2,000 Palestinians from its prisons.
Israelis protest outside government building after new wave of airstrikes on Gaza
Israelis gathered in protest outside government buildings in Jerusalem after Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip again since the truce was signed.
Families of hostages held by Hamas called on their supporters to protest with them outside the Israeli parliament, saying the renewed fighting in Gaza was putting their loved ones at risk.
“I couldn’t sit in my office today after the night we suffered, after the brutal step that Netanyahu and his government took,” Efrat Ben Barak said as he protested outside the parliament building. “Netanyahu probably felt the walls were closing in on him and the protests are gaining momentum.”
Another protester named Joni Sar said:
“The only explanation for the resumption of war now is the coalition needs of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who needs to strengthen the coalition to avoid investigations and jail.”
UN human rights spokesman Thameen Al Kheetan said on Tuesday he was “horrified” by the Israeli airstrikes and called for the “unconditional release” of the remaining Israeli hostages. He asked “all influential states to do everything possible to achieve peace and prevent further civilian suffering.”
Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed (LFI), wrote on X:
“330 dead tonight in Gaza in Netanyahu’s shelling of civilians. Whole families have been destroyed. Netanyahu has cut off humanitarian aid, water and electricity. The genocide of defenceless people continues. Shame on France’s elected representatives who until a few days ago stood shoulder to shoulder with and gave full support to the genocidal army. Shame and dishonour forever. Priority must be given to the restoration of the ceasefire. The war criminals will be condemned, as will their accomplices.”
