Israel launches Gaza assault, killing hundreds and shattering ceasefire

Israel’s major assault on Gaza broke the flimsy two-month-old ceasefire between its forces and Hamas.

More than 200 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the territory on Tuesday, according to Gaza’s government media office.

According to medical sources, at least 20 people were killed in Gaza City in the north and at least 77 in Khan Younis in the south of the country, according to medical sources.

Additionally, Israeli strikes strike southern Deir el-Balah and Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he had given the military the directive to “strong action” against Hamas because it had refused to release Israeli captives or accept offers to extend the ceasefire.

The Prime Minister’s Office stated in a statement that “Israel will continue to fight Hamas with increasing military might.”

On Telegram, the Israeli military claimed to be carrying out “extensive strikes on terror targets” belonging to Hamas.

Hamas, the country’s ruler, claimed that Israel’s attacks were a unilateral end to the January 19 ceasefire.

The Palestinian organization stated in a statement that “Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement” and that prisoners in Gaza face a “unknown fate.”

Israel was accused by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) of “deliberately sabotaging every attempt to reach a ceasefire.”

According to a statement shared with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, “We affirm that what Netanyahu and his barbaric army failed to accomplish in 15 months of crimes and bloodshed, they will not succeed in accomplishing again.”

Teacher Ahmed Abu Rizq in Gaza claimed that he and his family heard the scream of “Israeli strikes everywhere.”

Our children were scared, and we were scared. Our relatives called us frequently to check [on] ourselves. According to Abu Rizq, the ambulance started moving from one street to another, adding that families began arriving at the hospital with the “remains of their children” in hand.

According to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reported from Amman, Jordan, talks had been stalled after Netanyahu refused to start discussions on phase two of the ceasefire deal on February 6. Israel has accused Hamas of rejecting various proposals made by negotiators.

According to Salhut, “a number of Israeli analysts, members of the political opposition, and members of Netanyahu’s own government claimed that this was the original intention, a reprise of the fighting,” or “a full-scale war.”

There is also a new army chief of staff, who stated that 2025 would be a “year of war,” noting that Israel still has many objectives to fulfill when it comes to the Gaza Strip, which means that their military exercises are not yet over.

Since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas has exchanged nearly 2, 000 Palestinian prisoners for about 30 of their own.

Due to Israel’s insistent extension of the first stage until mid-April, negotiations on the second phase of the agreement had reached a standstill. It would lead to the release of nearly 60 of the remaining captives and the establishing of a permanent ceasefire.

The attacks, according to Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, were “the beginning of a larger campaign,” but it’s not clear whether they were a one-off or one-off.

According to Rabbani, “the most crucial element” was the second phase of negotiations that resulted in a lasting ceasefire and the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli government has repeatedly stated that it will not do that.

In other words, he said, “Israel] signed an agreement knowing that it would reject its implementation.”

Israel and US President Donald Trump had discussions about the strikes, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

According to Leavitt, “All hell will break loose,” as President Trump has stated, and Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran will all be put to the test by President Trump.

Source: Aljazeera