The Israeli military says it is carrying out “extensive strikes” on the Gaza Strip, and the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry reported that at least 220 Palestinians have been killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was targeting what it called “terror targets” belonging to Hamas.
Mahmoud Abu Wafa, the deputy interior minister in Gaza and a Hamas security official in the territory, was reportedly killed in the attack.
This is the largest wave of airstrikes on Gaza since the ceasefire began on January 19.
Talks to extend the ceasefire in Gaza have failed to reach an agreement.
Witnesses said the explosions in Gaza began at dawn as many people were eating breakfast, during the holy month of Ramadan.
They said more than 20 Israeli warplanes took to the skies. The planes then began striking targets in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the strikes on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
“This comes after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages, as well as rejecting all proposals from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators,” it said.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” it added.
The plan for the attacks was “presented by the IDF over the weekend and approved by the political leadership,” it said.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, warned Hamas to release all hostages, saying “we will show no mercy to our enemies.”
Hamas has strongly condemned Israel’s decision to cancel the ceasefire. It also said it would expose the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza to an “unknown fate.”
But Hamas has not yet declared it would resume the war, instead calling for mediators and the United Nations to intervene.
A White House spokesman told Fox News that Israel held talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the strikes.
Negotiators are trying to find a way forward after the first phase of the temporary ceasefire ends on March 1.
The US has proposed extending the first phase until mid-April, including further exchanges of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
But a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC that Israel and Hamas had not agreed on key aspects of the deal drawn up by Wittkoff in indirect talks.
The latest war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel and took 251 hostages.
The attack sparked an Israeli military offensive that has since killed more than 48,520 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry used by the United Nations and other organizations.
Many of the 2.1 million people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced or displaced multiple times.
Health care, water and sanitation systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
