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TPS-IL on 12 May, 2024
Israel Launches Widespread Gaza Airstrikes
Jerusalem, 18 March, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Israel launched widespread airstikes in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Tuesday morning.
“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,” Netanyahu’s office said.
“The [Israel Defense Forces ] is, at this time, attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order 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. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a senior Hamas Interior Ministry official in the Gaza Strip is among the dead. He was a key figure in Hamas’s efforts to rebuild its infrastructure in the civilian sector, including the Shifa Hospital.
As a precaution, Israel’s Home Front Command postponed classes in communities near the Gaza border, restricted public gatherings and suspended train service in the area of Sderot.
The strikes end a two-month ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.
Hamas insisted on the original ceasefire terms, which called for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining hostages. However, Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue operations until Hamas is dismantled. Talks over phase two of the agreement, set to begin February 3, never took place.
Despite this, the ceasefire held for weeks as mediators sought new terms. Last week, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff proposed extending phase one of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of five hostages. However, Witkoff dismissed Hamas’s response to the proposal as unacceptable, warning of consequences if the group did not reconsider.
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.
