On Tuesday, Israel made it clear that it would ramp up its military actions against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip unless Hamas returned to “genuine” negotiations regarding the release of remaining hostages. The military continued its extensive bombing campaign, which began in the early morning hours.
According to Hamas health authorities, at least 400 Palestinians were killed in the attacks, including several high-ranking members of the terror group. The airstrikes ended a fragile ceasefire that had been in place for nearly two months, which had brought a temporary lull to the violence in the Gaza Strip.
Following a series of airstrikes on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet security agency confirmed that the airstrikes had targeted terror cells, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other military infrastructure throughout Gaza.
These weapons and infrastructure were to be used in future attacks by the terror groups against Israel, the military explained.
In its statement, the IDF also confirmed that it had targeted and killed the de facto prime minister of Hamas-controlled Gaza, along with other high-ranking officials within the terror organization.
The military released footage showing the overnight strikes, which targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of Hamas’s politburo, and other infrastructure. Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and their infrastructure were also struck.
The first wave of airstrikes lasted less than 10 minutes. At 2:10 a.m., fighter jets dropped bombs on numerous targets within two minutes, while drone and attack helicopter strikes followed over the next eight minutes. In total, the IDF reported hitting approximately 80 targets.
The airstrikes were planned in advance, with the IDF taking into consideration the hostages held by Hamas. Military representatives communicated with hostage families overnight, providing them with updates on the situation.
The IDF has repeatedly emphasized that it avoids targeting areas where it suspects hostages are being held. However, some hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to investigations conducted by the IDF itself.
Earlier on Tuesday, Defense Minister Yisroel Katz warned Hamas that Israel’s actions would “intensify.” “The murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify,” Katz stated during a morning assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and other senior officials.
Later, while visiting Tel Nof Airbase, Katz declared that Israel would not cease its efforts against Hamas until all hostages were released.
“Hamas must realize that the rules of the game have changed, and if it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination,” he said. “We will not stop fighting until all the hostages are returned home and all threats to the southern residents are removed,” he added.
An Israeli official spoke to The Times of Israel, stating that Israel has a concrete plan “to move forward” with its military operations in Gaza. “If at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive]. At the moment, we’re left without any choice,” the official said.
A separate Israeli official told Israel Hayom that the goal of the renewed air campaign was to force Hamas to agree to the original “Witkoff proposal” for hostage talks.
The proposal, attributed to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half of the hostages released at the start of a ceasefire extension, which would last until after Passover in mid-April. The remaining hostages would be freed if an agreement to end the war is reached.
“Without small releases of hostages and without games, the goal is to get everyone out,” the official explained. “Israel waited three weeks for Hamas to begin serious talks on the Witkoff outline,” the official added. “That didn’t happen.”
The renewed military action was fully coordinated with the United States, said Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, who thanked President Donald Trump and his administration for their steadfast support.
Speaking to members of AIPAC’s board of directors in Yerushalayim, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar explained that the decision to resume attacks had been made “several days ago,” and he confirmed that the strikes would continue beyond Tuesday.
Witkoff “made two different proposals and Hamas rejected both of them,” Sa’ar said. “We found ourselves at a dead end, with no hostages released and no military action. This is a situation that cannot continue.” He added that the operation would extend “over the coming days.”
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the death toll from Israel’s strikes on Gaza in the past 24 hours reached 404, with at least 562 injured. A Red Cross spokesperson stated that many medical facilities in Gaza are “overwhelmed” due to the resumption of Israeli bombings.
These figures remain unverified.
“What we heard from Palestine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza,” said Tommaso Della Longa, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in a briefing in Geneva.
Hamas accused Israel of carrying out a “massacre” of civilians, but the terror group acknowledged that at least four of its senior officials were killed in the IDF strikes overnight.
The Hamas leadership confirmed the deaths of Issam Da’alis, the head of the governmental activity monitoring committee, Ahmad al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’s justice ministry, Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who headed the terror group’s interior ministry, and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of Hamas’s internal security forces.
The IDF confirmed it had targeted and killed these four senior Hamas officials as part of a broad bombing campaign against dozens of targets in Gaza.
The military also stated that the goal of the strikes was “to deliver a blow to the military and governmental capabilities of the Hamas terror organization and remove a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
Da’alis had replaced Rawhi Mushtaha, who was killed by Israel in July 2024. The IDF added that Da’alis was “entrusted with the functioning of the Hamas terror regime in the Gaza Strip” and overseeing coordination between the group’s various branches.
In addition, the spokesperson for the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Abu Hamza (real name Naji Abu Saif), was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Tuesday, along with his wife and several family members.
Despite the ongoing airstrikes, the IDF Home Front Command announced it was easing some restrictions in southern Israel, following an assessment of the situation. The activity scale in Gaza border communities and some towns in the Western Negev and Western Lachish regions was adjusted from “limited activity” to “partial activity.”
This change allows schools and workplaces to operate as usual, provided they are within reach of a bomb shelter. Gatherings were also limited to 100 people outdoors and 500 indoors, though beaches remained closed, according to the latest guidelines from the Home Front Command.
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