The cease-fire in Gaza ended late on Monday as the Air Force launched extensive strikes on the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in Gaza in response to the group's refusal to release hostages and rejection of all ceasefire proposals. "Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump was consulted ahead of the Strike.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that the decision was made after Hamas refused to release Israeli hostages and rejected any proposal by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
2 View gallery IDF airstrike in Gaza
Katz said the decision to return to fighting in Gaza was made after Hamas refused to release hostages and threatened Israeli troops and communities. "If Hamas does not free all of the hostages, the gates of hell will open on Gaza and the murderous Hamas rapists will encounter the IDF in a force they have not yet known. We will not stop the fighting until all the hostages are returned home and the objectives of the war are achieved," Katz said.
Military officials said the surprise attack on the Strip comes after hundreds of new targets were identified during the two months of truce and 20,000 terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad took up positions in Gaza adding that it was prepared to continue attacks against Hamas commanders and infrastructure in Gaza for as long as needed and would expand the campaign beyond airstrikes.
The IDF said the targets included senior Hamas leaders, tunnels and weapons storage facilities in a surprise attack on dozens of sites in order to maximize damage.
"In accordance with the political echelon, the IDF and ISA are currently conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement.
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The military said its forces are prepared on all fronts including its air defenses.
Palestinian media reported that at least 100 people have been killed or wounded thus far in the strikes that targeted different areas across the Strip in less than an hour.
A senior Hamas official accused Israel of unilaterally overturning the ceasefire agreement. "We call on the mediators to assign full responsibility on Netanyahu and Israel for violating the cease-fire agreement, Hamas said. the group called on the Arab League to stand by the Palestinian resistance and to break the unjust siege placed on the Gaza Strip. Hamas also called on the UN Security Council to urgently convene and force Israel to stop the war.
Schools will remain shut along the Gaza border on Tuesday the Home Front Command said.
Mkl312 on March 18th, 2025 at 06:12 UTC »
Kind of thought this could happen. From Hamas's perspective, the hostages are the only card they have left. Israel was actually willing to trade ridiculous numbers of Palestinian criminals/terrorists for each hostage, and even in spite of that Hamas is just refusing to let them all go. It's obvious they see what it really means.
Pretty clear what they fear the most now is just being completely at Israel's mercy. They've labeled them with every bad word imaginable but it's not made nearly enough of a difference. Their current position on the chessboard is like a king + a few scattered pawns.
Barring serious outside intervention, this is getting close to being the end of their country for good.
mathtech on March 18th, 2025 at 02:37 UTC »
i was hearing all month how trump, the brilliant peace negotiator, was going to end this war. what happened?
Cannot-Forget on March 18th, 2025 at 01:46 UTC »
Israel has resumed large-scale airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza after Hamas refused to release hostages and rejected multiple negotiation efforts.
The attacks are the most extensive since the end of previous ground operations.
The IDF has targeted Hamas commanders, tunnels, and weapons depots in a surprise operation. Palestinian sources report significant casualties.
Hamas condemned the strikes, blaming Israel for breaking the ceasefire.
Israeli officials warn that military actions will intensify until all hostages are freed and war objectives are met.