Brussels – With the first light of dawn, the nightmare for Gaza’s civilian population resumed. After escalating frictions between Israel and Hamas to negotiate the second phase of the ceasefire, Tel Aviv broke the deadlock and – with approval from the White House – launched a massive airstrike on several locations in the Palestinian enclave. There are reportedly already over 300 casualties. While the UN calls for “immediate restoration” of the truce, Netanyahu promises increasingly intense raids.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dubbed the operation “Force and Sword.” Shelling was reported in several locations in the Strip, from north to south, in the centers of Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, just like since the beginning of the conflict, many of the victims are women and children.t. In a statement, the Israeli premier said he ordered the attacks because of the lack of progress in the ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire. He accused Hamas of the “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and rejecting proposals by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The stalemate in negotiations ahead of the second phase of the truce was predictable, rereading the terms and modalities by which the parties agreed on a ceasefire on January 18. The yes vote wrested from Netanyahu in extremis by Joe Biden before Trump took office included precisely further talks after the first six-week phase and the possibility that Israel would resume military operations if it deemed it necessary. Thus, the new US administration and Tel Aviv forced their hand, presenting a plan to extend the first phase of the truce until the end of Ramadan and Passover, essentially calling for continuing the release of Israeli hostages but not proceeding with the withdrawal of its army from Gaza (as envisaged by phase 2).
The negotiating table broke down on March 2, with Hamas negotiators declining Witkoff’s plan and Netanyahu in response announcing a new blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Washington confirmed that it had been informed in advance of Israel’s attack on Gaza and had given its approval for the resumption of hostilities. “Hamas could have released the hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead chose denial and war,” said White House spokesman Brian Hughes.
The truce had already been violated several times in the past two months. Still, today’s all-out bombings were much more widespread in scope than the regular series of drone strikes that the Israeli military claimed to have conducted against individuals or small groups of suspected militants in the past period. According to Reuters reports, the IDF reportedly stated that the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and may extend beyond the airstrikes. “We will not stop fighting until all of the hostages return home and all the war’s aims are achieved,” Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed.
In response, a senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to resume large-scale attacks in the Strip is tantamount to a “death sentence” for the October 7 hostages still in the hands of the Palestinian terror group. There are about 60 Israeli nationals still in captivity in Gaza. The Families Forum, an association that brings together family members of the hostages, issued a statement saying that “the claim that the war has been resumed for the release of the hostages is a complete lie” and called for a “return to a ceasefire.” Hamas’s political bureau accused it of blowing up negotiations and resuming the war to save its far-right governing coalition.
“This is unconscionable,” said Muhannad Hadi, UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories. In a statement, Hadi called for the “immediate reinstatement of the ceasefire,” recalling that “the people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering.” Faced with yet another massacre in a conflict that has already claimed the lives of nearly 49,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the Palestinian National Authority called for “urgent international intervention.”
During the daily press briefing, the European Commission spokesman, Anouar El Anouni, stated that “the EU deeply deplores the resumption of hostilities and the deaths of civilians, including children, during Israeli air raids.” He reiterated the appeal to Hamas “to immediately release all hostages” and to Israel “to show restraint” and “restore unconditional humanitarian access”.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
