A series of explosions were heard across the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday as residents reported several Israeli airstrikes, witnesses told Reuters, in the largest strikes since the January 19 ceasefire began.
The Israeli military has said that it conducted extensive strikes on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza. At least 330 Palestinians, including children, were killed in airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, AFP reported quoting Gaza's health ministry. Scores of others are reported to be wounded. Hamas media reported the death of senior security official Mahmoud Abu Watfa in the strikes.
“In accordance with the political echelon, the IDF and ISA are currently conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement on social media platform X.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said on Tuesday that it instructed the army to strike Hamas across Gaza.
{{/usCountry}}Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said on Tuesday that it instructed the army to strike Hamas across Gaza.
{{/usCountry}}The statement quoted by the Associated Press said it was because of Hamas’ repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
In a statement, Hamas said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate".
Three houses were hit in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, a building in Gaza City, and targets in Khan Younis and Rafah, according to medics and witnesses quoted in the Reuters report.
Disagreement on ceasefire fuels violence
The escalating violence comes amid disagreement between Israel and Hamas on how to sustain the three-phase ceasefire that came into effect on January 19.
Arab mediators, backed by the United States haven't been able to hammer out differences between the two warring parties in talks held over the past two weeks.
On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, citing in particular the withholding of temporary shelter items and Israel’s decision to close crossing points to aid shipments at the beginning of the month.
The first phase of the agreement, which ended earlier this month, saw Hamas release more than 30 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
As part of the phase, Israel withdrew from the Netzarim corridor, a strategic route that divided Gaza into two parts, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what was left of their homes in the north.