Israeli air strike on the broken fire in Gaza is killing more than 400 people – Country
Israel launched an air strike on the Gaza Strip earlier Tuesday, killing at least 404 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombing has broken the ceasefire since January and threatened to completely reignite the 17-month-old war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a strike as Hamas refused Israel's request for a change in the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the action is open-ended and is expected to expand. The White House said it had consulted and expressed support for Israel's actions.
Israeli troops ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun and much of other communities in the north and head to the center of the territory, indicating that Israel can soon launch new ground operations.
“From now on, Israel will take action against Hamas with an increasing military force,” Netanyahu's office said.
The attack during the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan may restore a conflict that has killed thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread damage throughout Gaza. It also raises questions about the fate of about twenty-twenty Israeli hostages held by Hamas, who are believed to be still alive.
Senior Hamas official said Netanyahu's decision to resume the conflict belongs to the “death penalty” for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching a strike in an attempt to save his far-right management coalition and called on mediators to “reveal” who broke the truce. Hamas said at least four senior officials were killed during Tuesday's strike.
Hours after the bombing, there were no reports of any attacks on Hamas, indicating that it still hopes to resume a truce.
The strike was due to the increasing domestic pressure on Netanyahu, with massive protests planned to protest in his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of the Israeli Internal Security Agency. His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was cancelled after the strike.
The main group representing the captive family accused the government of withdrawing from the ceasefire, saying it was “optional to give up the hostages.”
“We are shocked, angry and fearful at the intentional demolition of this process, which has brought loved ones back from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the Hostages and Missing Family Forum said in a statement.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, Palestinians inspected the losses of Al-Tabi'in schools in the heart of the Gaza Strip.
AP Photos/Jehad Alshrafi
Injured stream enters Gaza hospital
A house in the southern city of Rafa killed 17 families, including at least 12 women and children, according to the European hospital that received the bodies. The deceased included five children, their parents, another father and his three children.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, an Associated Press reporter saw the explosion and smoke. The ambulance took the injured person to Nasser Hospital, and the patient was lying on the floor, screaming. A young girl with bloody arms cried.
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Many Palestinians say they expect negotiations in the second phase of the ceasefire to begin as early as February. Instead, Israel accepted another proposal and cut off all transport of food, fuel and other aid to the two million Palestinians in the region in an attempt to put pressure on Hamas.
“No one wants to fight,” Palestinian resident Nidal Alzaanin told the Associated Press via phone in Gaza. “Everyone is still suffering over the past few months,” he said.
Gaza's Ministry of Health said at least 404 people were killed during the strike and more than 560 were injured. It revised its confirmed charges after saying 413 people died and 660 injured earlier Tuesday. As the strike continued, rescuers were still searching for rubble and injured. This was one of the deadliest days of war.
Our support for Israel and blame Hamas
The White House tries to blame Hamas on Hamas. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said militant groups “would have released hostages to expand the ceasefire, but chose to reject and war.”
Israeli officials discuss the actions that took place without anonymity, and Israel is shocking Hamas' army, leaders and infrastructure and plans to expand the actions beyond the air strikes. Officials accused Hamas of trying to rebuild and plan a new attack. Hamas militants and security forces quickly returned to the streets in recent weeks after the ceasefire came into effect.
Netanyahu's office said Israeli leaders conducted security consultations with senior officials. It provides no more details.
Talks in the second phase of the ceasefire are stagnant
The strike happened two months after the ceasefire paused the war. In six weeks, Hamas released 25 species of Israeli hostages and eight bodies in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the first phase of the ceasefire.
However, since the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, neither side was able to reach a consensus on the way forward, the second phase aimed at freeing the remaining 59 hostages, 35 of whom were believed to have been dead and ended the conflict altogether.
Hamas demanded an end to the remittance and the entire evacuation of Israeli forces in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. Israel said that this will not end the conflict until Hamas's ruling and military capabilities are destroyed and all hostages are released, and the two goals may be incompatible.
Netanyahu's office said Tuesday that Hamas “had repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers from the U.S. presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff and mediators.”
Israel hopes Hamas releases half of the remaining hostages in exchange for a promise to negotiate a protracted truce. Instead, Hamas wants to follow a ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides, which requires negotiations to begin in the second phase of the ceasefire, a more difficult second phase, where the remaining hostages will be released and Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza.
Returning to the conflict will allow Netanyahu to avoid the difficult trade-offs demanded in the second phase of the agreement and the thorny question of who will rule Gaza. This will also lead to his alliance, depending on the far-right legislators who want to reduce Gaza there and rebuild Jewish settlements.
Gaza is already in a humanitarian crisis
When militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the conflict broke out, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and hijacking 251 hostages. Most have been released in a ceasefire or other deal, with Israeli forces rescuing only eight bodies.
According to local health officials, Israel killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in a military attack, an estimated 90% of Gaza's population. The territory's Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says more than half are women and children.
The ceasefire has brought some relief to Gaza and allowed thousands of displaced Palestinians to restore what remains in their houses.
Netanyahu faces increasing criticism
The freed hostages, some of whom were deprived, repeatedly begged the government to urge the ceasefire to return all remaining prisoners. Thousands of Israelis participated in the massive demonstrations, demanding a ceasefire and returning to all hostages.
Netanyahu announced this week that he wanted to fire the head of Israel's Shin BET Internal Security Agency. Critics critics criticized the move because Netanyahu tried to blame his failure in the October 7 war and handling the war.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli troops have killed dozens of Palestinians, and the military says they are approaching its troops or entering unauthorized areas.
Nevertheless, the deal was not reached and there was no widespread violence. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next step in the ceasefire.
Federman reported Magdy in Cairo from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Mohammad Jahjouh contributed to Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip; Abdel Kareem Hana in the Gaza Strip; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel.
