Israel launched large-scale airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and southern Syria on the night of 18 March, in what authorities said were targeted actions against extremists planning terrorist attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 17 that he had instructed the military to take “decisive action” against Iran-backed Hamas, which the United States and the EU consider a terrorist organisation, in response to the Islamist group’s refusal to release all hostages remaining in captivity and its rejection of new ceasefire proposals.
“From now on, Israel will act against” Hamas ” with increased military force,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Along with the strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said it also carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon and southern Syria.
Preliminary reports from Palestinian authorities in Gaza said the strikes killed at least 80 people and wounded dozens more, but said the death toll was likely to rise. It has not yet been possible to independently confirm that information.
The Israeli military said the strikes on Gaza targeted mid-level Hamas commanders and leaders and the group’s infrastructure.
The military said it was prepared to continue strikes against Hamas for as long as necessary and would expand the campaign.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told Fox News that Israel had consulted with the White House about the gas strikes.
On 5 March, US President Donald Trump warned Hamas of consequences if it did not immediately release all hostages after the White House confirmed it had held secret talks with the extremist group.
Reuters quoted a senior Hamas official as saying Israel was “unilaterally stopping” the Gaza ceasefire agreement and that its actions had jeopardised the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages.
The strikes came two months after the ceasefire went into effect. As part of the agreement, Hamas released more than thirty Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of nearly two thousand Palestinians from Israeli prisons. The first phase of the truce was finalised a fortnight ago. Further negotiations on the next phase, the release of nearly sixty hostages, less than half of whom are alive according to Israeli estimates, and an agreement to end the war have stalled.