Israel launched “extensive strikes” into Gaza Tuesday night, officially ending the ceasefire that had remained in place since January 19. The attacks were launched after Hamas neither freed the remaining hostages nor agreed to U.S. proposals to negotiate an extension to the ceasefire.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, at least 404 people, including women and children, were killed in the strikes. It is unclear how many amongst the dead were combatants.
“From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in televised remarks. “Hamas has already felt the presence of our force in the last 24 hours and I want to assure you: This is just the beginning.”
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, seemed to indicate that the U.S. was notified of the strikes in advance. “The Americans were informed before the attack and supported it because justice is on our side,” Saar commented in remarks to AIPAC. The strikes come a day after Israel struck military sites near Syria’s southern city of Daraa on Monday.
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