A deadly wave of airstrikes have shattered the brief ceasefire in Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning the attack was “only the beginning”.
Over 400 Palestinians have been killed and 600 reported injured, according to local health officials, in the deadliest single day of violence in a 17-month war with Hamas, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in the central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip.
The strikes were ordered after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement and Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until Israel achieves its goal of destroying the militant group and freeing all its hostages.
In a statement aired on national television, he said further ceasefire negotiations will take place “under fire”.
“Hamas has already felt the strength of our hand in the past 24 hours. And I want to promise you – and them – this is only the beginning,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinian officials said the casualties included senior Hamas officials, in addition to senior political leaders in Gaza and ministers, as well as many women and children.
Evacuation orders have been ordered in the northernmost and eastern parts of Gaza, indicating Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations.
Aid officials in Gaza said hundreds, potentially thousands, of people were on the move to comply with the orders, per The Guardian.
“There is no resilience. People … are in a very weak state, physically and psychologically,” one aid official in Gaza told the publication.
Hamas had rejected proposals from the US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for an extension of the pause in fighting, Netanyahu’s office said. Meanwhile Hamas said that hostages should only be released during the second phase, which Israel agreed to in January but has since refused to discuss or carry out.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which was agreed in January and ended on March 1, involved returning 25 living Israeli hostages and the remains of eight dead Israelis in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The second phase of the ceasefire would have involved Israel pulling out completely from Gaza, releasing all hostages, and ending the fighting for good. With US support, Israel has instead been pushing for the return of all remaining hostages in exchange for releasing more prisoners and having a 30- to 60-day truce, as proposed by Witkoff, The Guardian reported.
In Washington, a White House spokesperson said Israel had consulted the US administration before carrying out the strikes.
A State Department spokesperson said that “Hamas bears total responsibility… for the resumption of hostilities”, SBS News reported.
A number of global leaders and the United Nations have condemned the strikes while families of Israeli hostages have pleaded for the violence to halt, fearing the fate of their loved ones.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on Israel and Hamas to “respect the ceasefire and hostage deal” that was previously put in place.
“We don’t want to see innocent people suffer, there’s already been enormous suffering there,” he said, per SBS News.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said Gazans were being subjected to an “intolerable level of suffering” with the strikes.
US President Donald Trump has yet to comment on the developments.
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