TEL AVIV — Israel began launching “extensive strikes” at targets inside the Gaza Strip under the control of the Hamas terror organization early Tuesday, marking the collapse of the ceasefire agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint attack by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, was aimed at achieving the return of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing operations inside the Palestinian enclave.
“This follows Hamas’ repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” according to a statement released by the prime minister’s office.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” he said.
The IDF airstrikes in Gaza come after an almost two-month ceasefire pausing a war that began after Hamas launched a rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 240 people hostage.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF resumed air strikes at targets inside Gaza because of threats from Hamas against Israeli troops and communities near the border and its refusal to release the hostages.
“If Hamas does not release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza, and the murderers and rapists of Hamas will face the IDF with intensities they have never known before,” Mr. Katz said, according to Israel National News.
“We will not stop fighting until all the hostages return home and all the war objectives are achieved,” he said.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, at least 200 people have been killed in the airstrikes.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday night in the U.S. that the “Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight.”
“As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran — all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel, but also the United States of America — will see a price to pay: All hell will break lose,” she said.
The IDF airstrikes into the Gaza Strip also prompted Israeli officials to postpone schools in communities near the border until further notice.
