Israel launched a wave of airstrikes in Gaza early Tuesday, leaving at least 330 people dead. As per the Israeli Defense Forces, it was striking dozens of Hamas targets in the heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire happened in January this year.
Airstrikes were done in multiple locations like Gaza City, northern Gaza, and the Deir al-Balah, Rafah, the central andsouthern Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, many of the dead were children and women, and hundreds werewounded, dozens of them in critical condition.
As said by the PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, the strikes were ordered because of a lack of progress in ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire. It happened after Hamas refused to release the hostages and rejected all offers it got from the US presidential envoy. And, now, Israel will act against Hamas with more military strength.
In January, a ceasefire was reached to pause the war, which brought some relief to Gaza. Hamas released around three dozen hostages in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners over several weeks. However, since the first phase of the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, both sides have not agreed on a wayforward, with a second phase focused on releasing almost 60 remaining hostages and ending the war altogether.
A White House spokesperson in Washington said, Israel had consulted the US administration before carrying out the strikes, which the military said targeted mid-level Hamas commanders and leadership officials and also infrastructure belonging to the militant group. Hamas could have released the hostages to extend the ceasefire but rather they chose refusals and war.
In Gaza, Israeli tanks shelled areas in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing many families who had returned to their areas after the ceasefire to start to leave their homes and head northward to Khan Younis.
