Israel violated the cease-fire in Gaza, which had been in effect since January 19 this year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is returning to hostilities due to the fact that Hamas has refused peace proposals. Netanyahu’s government has promised that attacks could intensify if Hamas does not return all hostages. It was their release that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) made one of the priorities of the campaign, which resumed on the night of March 18.
The ceasefire in Gaza collapsed on the night of March 18. The Netanyahu government has announced the resumption of hostilities. “The decision was made after Hamas repeatedly refused to release the Israeli hostages and rejected all proposals conveyed to it through the special envoy of the US President, Steve Witkoff, and other intermediaries,” Netanyahu’s office said.
And further: “The IDF is attacking Hamas facilities throughout the Gaza Strip in order to fulfill the tasks set by the government, including the release of all hostages, living and dead.”
The Ministry of Defense of the Jewish state, in turn, promised that the country would increase military pressure on Hamas if the hostages did not return.
According to Axios sources, a separate reason for the resumption of hostilities was the fact that in recent days, during the ceasefire, according to Israeli intelligence, Hamas was preparing for new attacks on the Jewish state and took steps to restore its military potential, depleted in recent months.
Since January 19, a ceasefire has been in effect in Gaza, imposed after a deal was reached between Israel and Hamas. However, now the coastal enclave is returning to war mode for an indefinite period. The command wing of the radical Palestinian group has been severely “purged” by the Israelis. As confirmed by Hamas, as a result of the Israeli campaign launched on March 18, a member of the political bureau, a representative of the internal security service of the movement, the deputy Interior Minister in Gaza, as well as the Deputy Minister of Justice in the enclave were killed. In addition, local health authorities are informing about several hundred Palestinians who died as a result of the renewed strikes.
The Hamas leadership announced that it was doing its best to adhere to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, concluded in January, and did not plan to attack the Israeli military. “Hamas respected the ceasefire agreement until the last moment and sought to ensure that it continued to operate, but Netanyahu preferred to resume the war … The statements that Hamas was allegedly preparing attacks on the Israeli military are not true – this is just an excuse to resume hostilities,” the Palestinian radicals said in a statement. Separately, they noted that now, after the resumption of hostilities, the lives of the hostages, who have been in captivity since October 7, 2023, are under serious threat.
As sources in the Israeli government have made clear to The Times of Israel, pressure from the IDF may be part of a campaign to force negotiations. The Jewish state has a specific plan to continue its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, but its implementation may be postponed if the Palestinian militants change their position, the sources told The Times of Israel. “If at some point the other side decides to return to real negotiations, then we will return to real negotiations and then we will stop. However, at the moment we have no choice,” the portal’s sources explained.
Cease–fire negotiations stalled this month due to Israel’s desire to extend the first phase of the deal with Hamas, which would involve exchanging Israeli prisoners for Palestinian prisoners and postponing discussions on complex issues such as the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza and a sustainable cease-fire. The Palestinian militants insisted on moving to the second phase of negotiations – without concessions. The families of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, expressed their dissatisfaction with the resumption of hostilities. “The Israeli government has decided to abandon the abductees,” said the NGO Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons. “We call on President Trump to continue acting as he has stated and acted so far, and to release all those abducted. The Israeli Government and the families of the abductees demand answers. Why aren’t you fighting in the meeting room? Why did you reject an agreement that could have brought everyone home? There will be no security, no victory, no rebirth until the last of the hostages returns home,” the Hostage Families Forum noted.
