Israel launches strikes across Gaza as truce collapses
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The news: Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Gaza early Tuesday morning killing hundreds and bringing an end to an almost two-month ceasefire with Palestinian group Hamas.
The numbers: Palestinian health authorities said that over 400 people were killed and over 500 injured in the Hamas-controlled region by the air strikes. Hamas is still holding 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The context: A multiphase ceasefire agreed in January had been faltering in recent weeks as Israel sought to revise terms of a second stage which had been designed to release the final hostages and end the war.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel launched the strikes in response to Hamas’ refusal to release the hostages, and accused Hamas of rejecting proposals from mediators to extend the ceasefire.
In addition to releasing the hostages, Israel wants Hamas to disarm and step down from power in the territory, while the militant group has been calling for Israel to withdraw.
A senior military official told Bloomberg that Israel had been gathering evidence in recent days to conclude that Hamas was planning attacks on Israeli troops in the Gaza buffer zone and a cross-border raid into Israeli communities along the lines of the October 2023 attack that triggered the war. The evidence collected by Israel informed the military’s decision to act preemptively, launching the airstrikes.
On Tuesday White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that President Trump’s administration was consulted by Israel on Monday ahead of its strikes on Gaza. "As President Trump has made it clear - Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose," Leavitt said.
