Israel sends a big warning that it will ‘show no mercy’ on Hamas if the Israeli hostages are not returned as it unleashes a series of air strikes on Gaza.
At least 330 Palestinians are dead, according to Hamas, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out ‘extensive’ strikes in Gaza overnight after talks to extend the ceasefire had failed.
At least four Hamas officials – including Mahmoud Abu Wafah, the deputy interior minister and highest-ranking Hamas security official in Gaza – were among those killed in the strikes, sources affiliated with the terror group have claimed.
Witnesses in Gaza say that Israel unleased a ‘fire of hell’ on the region, alleging that ‘bodies and limbs are on the ground’ and the ‘wounded cannot find any doctor to treat them’, AFP reports.
The Israeli military, which reported it hit dozens of ‘terror targets’ early on Tuesday, said the attacks would continue for as long as necessary.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says the fighting will continue ‘as long as the hostages are not returned and all our war aims are not achieved’.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has previously vowed to ‘destroy’ Hamas, said Tuesday that Israel will ‘from now on act against Hamas with increasing military strength’.
His office also accused Hamas of ‘repeated refusal to release our hostages’ and rejecting proposals from US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas has issued a statement accusing Israel of treachery for breaching the terms of the truce agreed on January 19 and warned that Netanyahu’s decision to launch widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip amounts to a ‘death sentence’ for the remaining hostages held there.
