Maroosha Muzaffar, Bel Trew & Alex Croft
The Independent / March 18, 2025
Israeli military says its offensive will continue ‘for as long as necessary’ and expand beyond airstrikes.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 350 Palestinians across Gaza in the deadliest wave of attacks since a ceasefire deal was reached in January, according to health officials in the Hamas-run Strip.
The strikes began at 2.30am local time (00.20 GMT) on Tuesday morning and hit densely populated urban areas, makeshift schools, residential buildings, and shelters housing displaced people in tents. The Israeli military said in a statement: “This pre-emptive offensive will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes.”
The White House confirmed it was consulted before the attack and suggested Hamas was to blame. Donald Trump’s National Security Council spokesperson, Brian Hughes, said the militant group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an extension of the ceasefire deal reached on 19 January. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement that “Netanyahu’s decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them”.
Gaza hospitals overwhelmed
In heavily hit areas of North Gaza, Palestinian medical officials described the situation as a “nightmare”.
Doctors struggled to treat a massive influx of the wounded, with supplies low after Israel prevented all aid from entering the besieged strip from March 9 and cut the remaining electricity supplies.
Dr Yosef Abureesh, from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told The Independent that hospitals were unable to handle the sudden influx of wounded as there had been no time to rebuild the healthcare system and there was a desperate lack of skilled medical personnel.
He said that even during the ceasefire, before the latest blockade on aid, vital items like electrical generators, including spare parts, were not permitted to enter Gaza because they were labelled as “dual-use” and banned.
“Actually, they are putting everything on the dual-use list, including medicines,” he said.
“The destruction of the health system has made things even more difficult,” he continued, citing Gaza’s main hospital, Al-Shifa, which used to have a capacity of 700 beds with more than 24 operating rooms.
“Now it is almost completely destroyed. Medics are working in a very small area just for stabilisation. We were unable to renovate or rehabilitate the health system after the huge attacks,” he added.
“We lack expert doctors. Many have been detained, killed, or injured, and we have a very limited capacity of skilled personnel, unlike before,” he said.
Death toll rises to 350
The death toll of Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight has now exceeded 350, a Palestinian health ministry official has told The Independent.
Hundreds of people are injured, the official said, adding that the strip has very little resources to deal with the damage and casualties.
Mohammed Zaqut, the head of Gaza’s health ministry, earlier said that “dozens” of the injured remained in a critical condition, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
A UNICEF worker earlier also reported seeing dozens of children are among the dead.
The relative calm of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, when Israel launched dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip. Palestinian hospital officials say more than 250 people have been killed, including women and children. Israel says the operation is open-ended and expected to expand, raising fears of the 17-month-old war fully reigniting.
Here’s what to know about how the strikes came about and what might come next.
The relative calm of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has come to an abrupt end with Israel launching dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip
Israeli strikes ‘unconscionable’, says UN humanitarian coordinator
Israel’s resumed attack on Gaza is “unconscionable”, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian Territory has said.
“Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning … This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately,” Muhannad Hadi said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
A United Nations worker in the Gaza Strip says she has seen “at least several dozen children killed” in what was a “very tough night” as Israel resumed heavy strikes on the enclave.
Rosalia Bollen, a communications specialist with the UN children’s agency, said she woke up around 2 a.m. on Tuesday to “very loud explosions”.
The UNICEF bass near the southern city of Rafah “was shaking very heavily”, Ms Bollen said, before she heard “people yelling, people screaming and ambulances” after the strikes subsided.
“The bombardments have continued throughout the night,” though at a lower intensity than the initial barrage, she said.
“The whole night, there’s been just the constant buzzing of drones and planes flying over.”
She said the strikes hit tents and structures housing displaced families.
‘Our greatest fear has been realised’, say families of Israeli hostages
The families of Israeli hostages have issued a statement saying their “greatest fear” has been “realised” and calling for an immediate return to a ceasefire.
“The lives of our loved ones hang by a thread and cannot endure much longer. After surviving months in captivity against all odds, they are now in critical danger,” the statement reads.
It expresses gratitude to US president Donald Trump and called on him to continue his “vital work”, saying he is the “only one who can save the lives of our remaining loved ones”.
The statement adds: “To the mediating countries and nations with influence over Hamas: you must exert maximum pressure for the immediate release of the hostages. Had Hamas released the hostages, this continuing tragedy could have been avoided.
“The window for saving our loved ones is closing. They cannot survive much longer. The time for action is now.”
Maroosha Muzaffar is a senior reporter at The Independent
Bel Trew is The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent
Alex Croft is a London-based news reporter for The Independent
