Officials from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry say that over 130 people have been killed in tonight’s resumption of Israeli strikes throughout Gaza.
Over 300 other have been wounded, the Gaza-based sources say.
The figures have not been verified and typically conflate civilians with combatants.
According to Palestinian media reports, among those killed is Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a senior Hamas security official. Abu Wafta is the deputy head of Hamas’s interior ministry.
Officials from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry say that over 130 people have been killed in tonight’s resumption of Israeli strikes throughout Gaza.
Over 300 other have been wounded, the Gaza-based sources say.
The figures have not been verified and typically conflate civilians with combatants.
According to Palestinian media reports, among those killed is Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a senior Hamas security official. Abu Wafta is the deputy head of Hamas’s interior ministry.
The Israeli military says it has launched an extensive wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, targeting mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure.
According to the IDF, dozens of strikes have been carried out so far. The strikes were ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The strikes come after the IDF says it identified Hamas preparations to launch attacks on Israel, along with its efforts to regroup and rearm. Katz says the strikes also come after Hamas has refused to release hostages.
The IDF says it intends to continue the airstrikes “as long as necessary,” and widen the surprise assault beyond an aerial campaign if it is ordered to.
The IDF adds that it is deployed and prepared on all fronts, including with heightened alert with its air defenses.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is managing the operation with Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar from the IDF headquarters.
Following an assessment, it was decided to postpone schools in the Gaza border communities tomorrow, as well as halt the train line to Sderot.
The IDF says it won’t be detailing further information on the campaign at this time due to operational security concerns.
The plans had been kept secret until now for the IDF to have the element of surprise.
A senior Hamas official tells Reuters that Israel is unilaterally ending the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The terror group issues a statement saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s decision to resume Israel’s “aggression” against Gaza exposes the hostages “to an unknown fate.”
Hamas calls on the mediators — the US, Qatar and Egypt — to hold Netanyahu fully responsible for ending the ceasefire deal.
The terror group calls on Arab and Muslim countries to back “Palestinian resistance” aimed at “breaking the unjust blockade imposed on Gaza.”
Hamas also calls on the UN Security Council to urgently convene to issue a resolution obligating Israel to halt its “aggression.”
The IDF is launching strikes throughout Gaza after receiving orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to “act forcefully” against Hamas amid the terror group’s refusal to release Israeli hostages, the premier’s office says.
The IDF attacks appear to mark a return to the Israeli military campaign against Hamas that was halted with the start of a ceasefire on January 19, though the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office does not explicitly say this.
“At the direction of the political echelon, the IDF and Shin Bet are extensively attacking Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,” the IDF and Shin Bet say in a subsequent joint statement, adding that additional details will be provided shortly.
Netanyahu’s office says Hamas “rejected all offers it received” from US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff and the other mediators.
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