Israeli forces on Tuesday launched the most deadly strike in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, killing hundreds of people and threatening to compromise an increasingly vulnerable ceasefire.
The Israeli military said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is “on a wide range of strikes” against Hamas across the Gaza Strip with the aim of “releasing all our hostages – alive and dead” against Hamas.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas while increasing its military strength,” he said.
Gaza’s Palestinian Health Ministry announced the preliminary deaths, saying that the enclave hospital has received bodies that say at least 326 people have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured. It said that many people are still buried under the tiled rub and efforts are underway to restore them.
Videos filmed by NBC News crews on the ground at Khan Eunice in South Gaza showed people rushing to Nasser Hospital, when bloody bodies were seen lying on floors and metal stretchers, including young children.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassador said early Tuesday that dozens of people were killed and injured after an attack on the home.
“Our crew members are unable to deal with the attack due to limited resources and dangerous circumstances,” Basal said. “We are calling on the world to stop this attack.”
The strike was Gaza’s heaviest Israeli military bombing as a ceasefire contract reached in January and brought a pause in a battle in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 people were held hostage following the terrorist attack on October 7th.
Since then, more than 48,500 people have been killed in Gaza, destroying much of the infrastructure throughout the enclave.
Hamas said the strike violated the agreement.
“Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing Gaza prisoners to unknown fate,” he said in a statement.
White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt told Fox News that Israel had discussed the strike with the Trump administration and the White House.
Israel’s latest military action follows separate Israeli attacks that killed at least 14 people in 24 hours over the weekend, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry reported his death in a statement Sunday.
The IDF said on Saturday it identified two Hamas operatives as “operating drones that pose a threat to the IDF forces,” and saw others gathering equipment to operate the drones.
Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement in January, but since then there have been accusations of violations by both sides.
The first phase of the transaction, including the release of hostages, filmed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, expired this month. The second stage, designed to free male hostages, is intended to launch consultations for the long-term purpose of the war.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Tuesday that he and Israeli Defense Minister Katz have “instructed the military to “forcefully act against Hamastero organisations in the Gaza Strip.”
“This has repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers that Hamas had received from the US President’s envoy, Steve Witkov, and from the mediators,” Netanyahu’s office said.
International negotiators have been in discussions in the hopes of strengthening the ceasefire contract.
Witkov, a special envoy for the Middle East, rejected the response to Hamas’ proposal on CNN on Sunday.
“Hamas’ proposal is a non-starter,” he said in “The State of the Union.” Witkov said the US supported the proposal for a “bridge” that includes the release of five living hostages in exchange for the release of “substantial” Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The status of the ceasefire agreement in the 17-month war remained unknown.
Israel’s UN ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the board that the UN Security Council will meet on Tuesday and that if Israel wants to end the war, it will be “very clear” to the board.
“Israel will not stop until all of our hostages return home,” Danon said.
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