The strikes come after nearly two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month long war where dozens of hostages were released for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners
| Photo Credit: AP
Israel launched new strikes against Hamas and promised ‘increasing military force’ after talks on further hostage releases stalled. Gaza’s ministry of health says at least 44 people have been killed from Israeli airstrikes into Gaza early Tuesday morning (March 18, 2025).
Israel said it was striking Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January.
Early Tuesday morning, Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said it instructed the Army to strike Hamas across Gaza.
The statement said it was because of Hamas’ repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told Reuters that Israel is unilaterally ending the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The strikes come after nearly two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month long war where dozens of hostages were released for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.
Still, the deal has tenuously held without an outbreak of wide violence. The ceasefire’s first phase saw an exchange of some hostages held by Hamas in return for the freeing of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps in the ceasefire.
Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to follow the ceasefire deal reached by the two sides, which calls for negotiations to begin on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, in which the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.
Published – March 18, 2025 07:26 am IST
