Truce Shattered as Israeli Raids Kill Over 342 Palestinians in Gaza

Israel launched a massive assault on Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least 342 Palestinians, including women and children, and shattering a tenuous two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.
The attack took place in areas including Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, Gaza City in the north, and central areas such as Deir el-Balah, news agencies reported.
Hamas, which governs Gaza, said it viewed Israel’s attacks as a unilateral cancellation of the ceasefire that began on January 19.
“Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate,” Hamas said in a statement. It called on people in Arab and Islamic nations, along with the “free people of the world”, to take to the streets to protest the assault.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group accused Israel of “deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire”.

Meanwhile, CNN reported that Israel had consulted the Trump administration before the Gaza strikes. “Hamas, the Houthis, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

According to Fox News, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began striking Hamas terrorist targets across Gaza "in order to achieve the war objectives set by the political leadership, including the release of all our hostages—both the living and the fallen," the office of Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a letter. 

"This decision comes after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all proposals presented by US President’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, as well as the mediators," the letter states. 

Israel will intensify its military actions against Hamas moving forward, authorities said.

"Under the direction of the political echelon, the IDF and Shin Bet are widely attacking terrorist targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, more details below," the IDF and Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, said in a joint statement. 

The IDF launched a series of preemptive strikes targeting mid-ranking military commanders, leadership officials and terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, an Israeli official told Fox News. The military offensive will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes, the official said.

Dozens of targets were chosen, based on Hamas readiness to execute terror attacks, and build up and re-arm its forces. Following a situational assessment by Katz and the IDF officials, a decision was been made not to open up schools and educational activities in the Gaza Envelope, authorities said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the airstrikes came after Hamas "rejected all offers it received" from the Trump administration's special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff and the other mediators.