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US President Donald Trump’s administration was consulted by Israel on its deadly strikes in Gaza.
Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday. Picture: [Handout/Houthi Media Center via AFP]
Over 110 Palestinians, including several children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip as Israeli officials threatened a ground invasion in the enclave.
Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, saying it was striking Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January.
Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas said Israel had overturned the ceasefire agreement, leaving the fate of 59 hostages still held in Gaza uncertain.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire.
“This comes after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the US presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators,” Netanyahu’s office said.
ALSO READ: South Africa condemns Israel for blocking aid in the Gaza Strip
Israel’s defence minister said the country has “resumed fighting” in Gaza and is vowing to press ahead until all remaining hostages are released.
In a brief statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “The gates of hell will open in Gaza” if hostages aren’t released.
“We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals.”
According to AFP, it was not immediately clear if the operation was a one-time pressure tactic or if the 17-month-old war was being resumed altogether.
Gaza’s Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
A White House spokesperson told Fox News’ Hannity show US President Donald Trump’s administration was consulted by Israel on its deadly strikes in Gaza.
“The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview.
The ceasefire took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of war.
Over the initial six-week phase, Hamas freed 25 living hostages. They returned the bodies of eight others to Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Last month, South Africa condemned Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and its closure of border crossings, saying it is a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.
Israel blocked the entry of aid shipments to Gaza just hours after the first phase of its ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas expired, raising fears of hunger and extreme hardships during the holy month of Ramadan that began earlier this month.
Several Arab nations and rights organisations condemned Israel’s decision to halt aid deliveries to the enclave, with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying Israel is “using it as a tool of blackmail and collective punishment”.
The Israeli government’s actions on Sunday seemed to point in the direction of an end to the ceasefire and a resumption of all-out war in Gaza.
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