Israel “in accordance with the political situation” is launching massive strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday.
The army ordered the temporary suspension of educational institutions in Israeli communities near the Gaza border from March 18.
Hamas “rejected all offers received” from US special representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and other mediators, the Israeli prime minister’s office explained.
Dozens of people were killed in airstrikes, Reuters and Al-Jazeera correspondents reported.
On January 19, a truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The deal was multi-phased: the first phase involved Israel unblocking large amounts of humanitarian aid for Gaza, withdrawing Israeli troops from densely populated areas, and exchanging hostages for prisoners. The first phase expired in March, after which Israel demanded an extension rather than proceed to the second part of the agreement.
Hamas refused and demanded that the original terms of the agreement be honoured. The group warned that Israel must first fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip and only then would the exchanges resume. Nevertheless, the ceasefire was extended for nearly three weeks while the sides worked to work out new terms.
The Wall Street Journal revealed in early March that if Hamas fails to comply, Israel could launch a series of airstrikes and also conduct several tactical raids against Hamas, and the IDF would once again announce the forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip to the south.
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis wrote on X:
“No, the ceasefire did not collapse. Israel collapsed it, as they always planned. After two weeks of no supplies to 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, once hunger had returned, Israel unleashed its bombs once again. And so the genocide continues.”
