US blames Hamas for end of truce as Israel vows to hit Gaza with force ‘never seen before’

Israeli defense minister says wave of airstrikes targeting Hamas positions is just the beginning of new IDF offensive, vows Israel will open “the gates of hell” and strike Gaza with force it has “never seen before.”

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration appeared to back Israel’s resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip Tuesday as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) signalled a massive expansion of the war beyond the wave of IDF airstrikes overnight.

Shortly after Israeli warplanes began bombing Hamas positions across Gaza early Tuesday morning, Katz issued a statement threatening to open “the gates of hell” in Gaza and to strike terrorist forces in the coastal enclave with an intensity “never seen before” if the remaining 59 hostages are not immediately returned.

“Tonight we returned to fighting in Gaza in light of Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages and amid its threats to harm IDF soldiers and Israeli communities,” Katz said. “We will not stop fighting until all of the hostages return home and all the war’s aims are achieved.”

Israel ended the de facto ceasefire Tuesday, striking dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza, after the first phase of the truce lapsed on March 2nd.

Hamas and Israel were unable to reach an agreement on extending the ceasefire and the release of hostages, with the terror group insisting any further hostage releases be linked to the IDF’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire.

American proposals to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of some of the remaining hostages were rejected by Hamas.

The Trump administration indicated Tuesday that it placed the onus on Hamas for the collapse of the ceasefire.

Jerusalem notified the Trump administration prior to the airstrikes and briefed the U.S. on the IDF’s objectives, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

“The Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight,” Leavitt said.

“As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran – all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but the United States of America – will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose.”

In a statement by White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes to Axios, the administration slammed Hamas for “choosing” war over an extension of the ceasefire.

“Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war,” he said.

gaza stripHamasIDFIsrael Katz