IDF launches massive wave of Gaza airstrikes; Hamas says hundreds killed

Following Hamas’ refusal to continue hostage releases under January 19th ceasefire arrangement and multiple violations of the truce, IDF ends ceasefire with wave of airstrikes on Hamas positions.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli warplanes bombed targets across the Gaza Strip overnight, ending the de facto ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror organization after the two sides failed to reach an agreement to formally extend the truce.

At around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, the IDF and Shin Bet internal security agency issued a joint statement announcing that “under the instruction of the political echelon,” the army and Shin Bet were striking “terror targets” used by Hamas across the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of strikes were carried out before dawn Tuesday, with the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry claiming that over 400 fatalities have been confirmed thus far as a result of the attacks.

The causalities include at least 77 dead in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, 20 dead in Gaza City in the north, with additional casualties reported in Rafah and Deir el-Balah.

Over 1,000 people have been wounded, the Gaza health ministry claimed.

Local media reports claim that Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a senior Hamas security official in the Strip and deputy interior minister, was among the dead.

According to preliminary reports, at least four other ranking Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip have also been eliminated, including Hamas’ internal security chief in Gaza, and a member of the Hamas politburo.

In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he and Defense Minister Israel Katz “have instructed the IDF to take strong action against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”

“This follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” he said.

Israel, Netanyahu’s office vowed “will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”

The first phase of the January 19th ceasefire deal, spanning six weeks, ended on March 2nd.

While Israel and the U.S. proposed that the truce be extended under the existing rubric of the first phase, Hamas declined, demanding that any additional hostage releases be conducted as part of a broader agreement that would include a permanent end to the war and a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza.