Israel unexpectedly shatters ceasefire in Gaza with wave of deadly strikes

Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza early Monday morning, just as it was about to reach its two-month mark, with a surprise wave of airstrikes that left more than 400 dead, including children and women, according to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government in Gaza. The large-scale attack hit Deir al-Balah, Gaza City, Al Mawasi — the area that Israel had declared a “humanitarian” zone and urged forcibly displaced people to go to — Khan Younis, Rafah... Gazans reported numerous explosions in different parts of the Strip, while they were sleeping and in the midst of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, justifying the decision by the “repeated refusal” of the fundamentalist militia to renounce what it agreed to in January and release more Israeli hostages without guarantees that it will lead to an end to the war. The Israeli army says that the operation will continue “as long as necessary and will expand beyond airstrikes.”

Images released by local journalists (Israel has barred the press from entering Gaza since the start of the war) show several dead bodies of babies and children in the hospital, fires caused by the strikes, and screams from the population as they see the sky light up in the early morning darkness. The pace and lethality of this early morning’s attacks exceeds even the daily average of the last few months of war. “Netanyahu and his extremist government are making the decision to revoke the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners [referring to hostages] in Gaza to an unknown fate,” Hamas said in a statement.

The Israeli government also maintains a complete blockade of humanitarian aid (food, water, and medicine) and, since last week, also of electricity for the water desalination plant. Israel had already been increasing the frequency of its airstrikes for days, with nearly 20 deaths in the 48 hours prior to the massive wave at dawn on Tuesday. Dead bodies are piling up at the hospital in Khan Younis, in the south, where most of the deaths have occurred, while messages issued from loudspeakers in the minarets urged the population to perform the first prayer of the day at home because it is too dangerous to try to reach the mosques.

These are the “strong measures” against Hamas ordered by Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Israel Katz, as defined by the former’s office in a statement. Netanyahu asserts that Hamas has rejected all the proposals made by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, “and the mediators.” But this is not what has transpired from the negotiations, first in Doha and this Monday in Cairo. Rather, Israel and the U.S. (on paper, one of the three guarantors of the agreement) insist on extending the first phase of the ceasefire so that Hamas agrees to release the 59 hostages it still holds in Gaza. In other words, Hamas loses its main advantage without any guarantees about the end of the invasion. The Islamist movement demanded guarantees and agreed to extend the first phase, but only to immediately begin negotiations for the second phase.

Following the wave of airstrikes, the Israeli army changed its guidelines for residents of towns near Gaza early this morning. This is something it only does when it anticipates an imminent exchange of fire. Activity has been reduced from full to limited, which means school classes have been canceled.

White House was notified

The White House has defended the airstrikes and said it was notified in advance. “As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday.

The Israeli decision comes in the midst of Trump’s threats against Iran (a war that Netanyahu desires and for which he needs the support and armament of his great ally) and after three days of U.S. strikes in Yemen against the Houthis, allies of Tehran. These attacks have already left more than 400 dead (according to the latest count by the Houthi government health authorities) and represent the country’s largest military operation in the Middle East since Trump’s return to the White House in January.

It is the result of an escalation that originated in Netanyahu’s decision to block humanitarian aid to Gaza in early March. The Houthis then gave him four days to reverse it, in solidarity with their “brothers in Gaza,” and last week they announced the resumption of attacks on Israeli ships in the strategic Red Sea, which they had halted since the signing of the ceasefire.

The latest episode took place on Monday, when Trump threatened retaliation directly against Iran for attacks launched by the Houthis. “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible,” he posted on Truth Social.

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