Israel conducts biggest strike on Gaza as ceasefire talks with Hamas stall; 235 killed | Story so far

At least 235 people were killed as Israel launched a wave of "extensive airstrikes" across Gaza early on Tuesday, shattering a fragile ceasefire that had held since January. It is the biggest since the ceasefire began on January 19.

An Israeli official told AFP that the extensive operation launched across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday was targeting Hamas leadership and infrastructure and would last "as long as necessary".

"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 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

According to AFP, the Israeli military "has launched a series of preemptive strikes targeting mid-ranking military commanders, leadership officials and terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation," the official, who declined to be named, said, adding that the operation "will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes".

Rescuers said the air strikes, which took place during the month of Ramadan, also injured about 150 people in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip.

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What PM Netanyahu's office said

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later said the strikes were ordered after "Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators."

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is, at this time, attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," it posted on X.

Israel would now act with "increased military strength" against Hamas, it said.

Hamas held Netanyahu "fully responsible for violating and overturning the agreement". The ceasefire breach "exposes the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate", it said in a statement.

A White House spokesperson said Israel had consulted President Donald Trump administration before it carried out the strikes.

Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks stall

The truce talks stalled as Israel wanted to extend the first phase of the three-stage ceasefire agreement, while Hamas said it would resume freeing hostages only under the second phase that was due to begin on March 2.

The initial phase of the ceasefire witnessed 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais freed by Hamas in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has still held about 59 hostages.

Last week, Hamas said it had agreed to release American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and four bodies of the hostages if Israel agreed to begin talks immediately on implementing the second phase of the agreement. Israel, however, accused the Palestinian group of waging "psychological warfare" on the families of hostages.

The war's only previous truce took place in November 2023 for a week when Hamas released hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The Gaza war began when Hamas led a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They also captured 251 hostages.

Israel's retaliatory strikes since then have killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and injured over 1.12 lakh.

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