Israeli forces hit Hamas, Islamic Jihad targets in second day of Gaza offensive

Netanyahu said that Hamas has “already felt our strength” since the IDF returned to fighting, warning that future ceasefire negotiations with the terror group “will only take place under fire.”

By Joshua Marks, JNS

The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on a Hamas site in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday after preparations for launching attacks on Israeli territory were identified, the military said on Wednesday morning.

Additionally, during the night, Navy forces targeted several vessels off the coast of Gaza that were being used for terrorist activities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the IDF.

The military stated that it remains committed to striking terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip to neutralize threats against Israeli civilians and military forces.

The IDF announced early on Tuesday morning that it had launched “extensive” strikes against terror targets in Gaza. The campaign has been officially named “Operation Strength and Sword.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the military was acting after the Hamas terror group rebuffed several proposals from U.S. Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff to extend the ceasefire in the coastal enclave during the Ramadan and Passover holidays.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” said Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. The goal of the military campaign in Gaza remains to achieve “the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the statement added.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday night that Hamas in the Gaza Strip has “already felt our strength” since the IDF returned to fighting, warning that future ceasefire negotiations with the terror group “will only take place under fire.”

Hamas, however, insisted that it has not abandoned negotiations. “Hamas has not closed the door on negotiations, but we insist there is no need for new agreements,” senior official Taher al-Nunu told AFP from Cairo on Wednesday, calling for international pressure to enforce the ceasefire.

The IDF confirmed on Tuesday night that Essam al-Dalis, “the Hamas prime minister and a senior government figure in the Gaza Strip” was among several senior terrorists killed in the campaign.

Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a deputy minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, Ahmed al-Hetta, the justice minister and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of central operations in the Gaza Interior Ministry, were also killed.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed on Tuesday evening “with great pride and honor” that its spokesman Naji Abu Saif, known as “Abu Hamza,” was killed in an Israeli strike that day.

Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages.

According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59% of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities.

Some 38% said they opposed it, while 3% of respondents did not express a position.

According to the most recent Israeli government assessments, there are 59 captives remaining under the control of Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Of those, 24 are believed to still be alive.