Over 400, including children, killed as Israel ends Gaza ceasefire

At least 404 Palestinians have been killed and 562 wounded as Israel launched a massive onlsuaght on Gaza, shattering the fragile two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.

Tuesday’s attack took place across Gaza, including in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, Gaza City in the north, and central areas like Deir el-Balah.

Many of those killed in the attacks were children, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said.

Palestinian Health Ministry said that “404 martyrs and 562 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals so far”, adding that “a number of victims are still under the rubble”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he has instructed the military to take “strong action” against Hamas in Gaza, accusing the group of refusing to release captives and rejecting all ceasefire proposals.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the prime minister’s office announced in a statement.

Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz has also stated the “gates of hell” would open in the enclave if the remaining captives were not released.

“We will not stop fighting until all of the hostages return home and all the war’s aims are achieved,” Katz announced in a statement.

“The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks on Gaza tonight and as President Trump has made clear to Hamas, the Houthis, Iran – all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel but the United States of America will see a price to pay,” Leavitt added.

“All hell will break loose and all of the terrorists in the Middle East – the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iranian-backed terror proxies and Iran themselves – should take President Trump very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people.”

The Israeli military announced it is prepared to continue attacks on Gaza for as long as needed and would expand the campaign beyond air strikes.

The military described the attacks as having targeted Hamas commanders and infrastructure, but footage and local reports indicate that scores of civilians had been killed and wounded.

Reacting to the air strikes, Hamas said in a statement that Israel had resumed its “genocidal war against defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip”.

“Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the [Israeli] prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate,” Hamas announced on Tuesday morning.

“We demand that the mediators hold Netanyahu and the Zionist occupation fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement.”

It called on the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to “assume their historical responsibility in supporting the steadfastness and valiant resistance of our Palestinian people, and in breaking the unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip”.

It also urged the UN to “convene urgently to adopt a resolution obligating the occupation to halt its aggression and abide by Resolution 2735, which calls for an end to the aggression and withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip”.

The Palestinian group has blamed the US for its advance knowledge of Israel’s deadly bombardment in Gaza, saying this “confirms its direct partnership in the war of extermination against our people”.

The White House’s acknowledgement that it was consulted ahead of the attack “exposes the blatant American complicity and bias with the occupation”, Hamas announced.

“With its unlimited political and military support for the occupation, Washington bears full responsibility for the massacres and the killing of women and children in Gaza,” it added.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group accused Israel of “deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire”.

The fragile ceasefire between Israel Hamas, which came into effect on 19 January, was planned to include three phases.

The first phase, which ended at the beginning of March, resulted in the release of 33 Israeli and five Thai captives by Hamas in exchange for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian captives held in Israeli prisons.

Israel, backed by the US, has sought an extension of phase I of the deal while Hamas has said the ceasefire agreement should move to phase II.

The broad outline of the second phase, the details of which have not yet been agreed, is for all Israeli captives to be released in return for a total withdrawal from Gaza.

Israeli officials have long maintained that their forces will not withdraw from the enclave unless Hamas’s military and governance capabilities are completely removed.

A plan for the governance of post-war Gaza would have been discussed in the second and third phases.

The third phase was expected to involve the return of the bodies of Israeli captives still held in Gaza and the announcement of a three to five-year reconstruction plan for the enclave overseen by international actors.

Israel’s 18-month war on Gaza has levelled much of the enclave, reducing homes, hospitals and schools to rubble.

Israeli forces have so far killed more than 48,000 people in the territory, according to Palestinian health authorities.