TNA Staff
The New Arab / March 18, 2025
Over 300 Palestinians have been killed in the fresh strikes, with many still trapped under the rubble as Netanyahu’s corruption trial is cancelled.
A massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed an Israeli captive and wounded at least two others, a senior Hamas leader told The New Arab’s Arabic language sister site, Al-Araby al-Jadeed.
At least 404 Palestinians were killed and over 500 others wounded in overnight Israeli strikes on Gaza as Hamas slams Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for sabotaging a ceasefire deal.
The captive, who has not yet been identified, was killed after an Israeli jet targeted the site where they were held in Gaza.
The Hamas official explained that the group previously warned that Israeli bombings were killing captives and reiterated that the remaining hostages could not be freed without a negotiation process.
Palestinian health officials said the death toll is expected to rise, as many people are still trapped under the rubble.
The attacks, which started at around 2 am local time, just before most of Gaza’s population was set to wake up for their pre-dawn Ramadan meal, known as suhoor.
Netanyahu ordered the strikes, claiming they were in response to Hamas’s unwillingness to extend the first phase of the deal.
Gaza’s government media office said “entire families” were wiped out with many “women, children and elderly” people killed.
The death toll includes a pregnant woman and her baby who were killed in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area.
The attacks came with no prior warning and targeted residential areas and makeshift schools where swathes of displaced people had taken shelter.
Corruption trial
The shock attack on Gaza also came on the same day Netanyahu was set to provide testimony in his corruption trial, forcing the court to annul the hearing, Israeli media reported.
In his request to cancel the hearing, Netanyahu wrote: “This morning at 11 am an urgent security consultation will take place that will include the prime minister, defence minister and heads of the IDF security.”
The ceasefire deal was supposed to transition to phase two on 2 March, which would have seen an indefinite end to attacks on the Strip.
However, Israel instead implemented a complete blockade on the enclave, stopping all aid, medical supplies, and shelter materials from entering.
The strikes in Gaza, which have killed mainly women and children, also came on the same day that a renewed mass demonstration in Jerusalem was set to take place over Netanyahu’s plan to push out Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar from his position.
Critics see the move as an attempt by Netanyahu to avoid accountability for the Hamas attack on October 2023 and the war on the enclave. Israeli media reports noted that Netanyahu often requests that hearings in his corruption trial are cancelled so he can focus on the war on Gaza.
Calls for global protest
While politicians in Israel have hailed the renewed attacks on Gaza, Hamas has denounced “Netanyahu and his extremist government” and called on “free people of the world” to protest the latest attacks”.
A statement from the group called on people to “raise their voice in rejection of the resumption of the Zionist war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
The group has also reiterated that it was committed to the ceasefire deal and was ready to comply with the proposal suggested by Trump’s envoy Adam Boehler, which would see an Israeli-American captive freed and the bodies of four dual nationals given back before moving onto the second phase.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued a statement condemning Israel for the “resumption of aggression against the Gaza Strip” and vowed that “the Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battle, and Yemen will continue its support and assistance, and escalate confrontation steps”.
Israel’s defence minister has called for the Rafah crossing to be closed off, stopping any patients leaving Gaza for medical treatment abroad.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Dannon, said the strikes on Gaza will continue and “we will show no mercy on our enemies”.
“Israel will not stop until all of our hostages are back home,” he continued.
The attacks on Gaza have been met with frustration from families of the captives held in Gaza.
The Israeli Families Forum issued a statement reading: “The greatest fear of the families of the hostages has been realised…the Israeli government has chosen to abandon the hostages. We are shocked, angry, and concerned by the deliberate disruption of the process”.
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Israel ‘ends’ Gaza ceasefire after killing hundreds of Palestinians in extensive airstrikes TNA Staff
The New Arab / March 18, 2025
Israel resumed war on Gaza by killing over 200 Palestinians in morning airstrikes and threatened a ground invasion breaking the ceasefire agreement.
Israel launched a series of “extensive strikes” across Gaza early Tuesday morning, killing hundreds of Palestinians and collapsing the recent ceasefire agreement.
The strikes targeted various locations, including Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah, marking the most significant military operation in Gaza since the ceasefire began on January 19.
Medics and local witnesses reported more than 200 Palestinians killed, with more than 150 others wounded from airstrikes and artillery shelling. Among the casualties were women and children, including those sheltering in the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood. The attack also targeted Palestinian refugees in tents in the Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it was prepared to continue attacks against Hamas commanders and infrastructure in Gaza for as long as needed and would expand the campaign beyond airstrikes with a potential ground invasion.
In response, Hamas warned that Israel’s new attacks in Gaza breach the ceasefire and put the fate of the hostages in jeopardy. The Palestinian group, which has for weeks accused Israel of not being interested in a truce, said Israel ‘”decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement” in a released statement on Tuesday.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also condemned Israel accusing it of continuing its “war of extermination” on Gaza after “deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire”. In a statement, the group said the renewed attack by Netanyahu and his “bloodthirsty Nazi government” will not give Israel “superiority over the resistance, neither on the ground nor in negotiations”.
“We affirm that what Netanyahu and his barbaric army failed to achieve in 15 months of crimes and bloodshed, they will not succeed in achieving again, thanks to the steadfastness of our oppressed people and the courage of our mujahideen in the fields of … resistance,” the PIJ said.
Israel consulted with President Trump before launching their latest attack on Gaza, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “As President Trump has made clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran – all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel but the US – will see a price to pay, and all hell will break loose,” she told Fox News.
“The Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and Iranian-backed terror proxies should take President Trump very seriously when he says he’s not afraid to stand for law-abiding people and stand up for the US and our friend and ally Israel.”
This wave of violence comes after an already difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been exacerbated by Israel’s blockade and its refusal to lift restrictions on vital aid supplies.
Gaza’s Government Media Office reported more than 61,700, with thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble and presumed dead.
The strike follows the breakdown of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which had hoped to extend the ceasefire. The initial ceasefire, brokered by international mediators, had been in place since January 19, but talks for its extension have since faltered.
The United States had pushed for a continuation of the truce to include an additional phase aimed at securing the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel. However, disagreements between Israel and Hamas over the specifics of the deal, including the demand for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza, have led to a deadlock.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Defence Minister Israel Katz, blamed Hamas for the collapse of the ceasefire, accusing the militant group of refusing to release Israeli hostages and rejecting US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposals.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Israel’s renewed military action aims to achieve “the war objectives as determined by the political leadership,” which include securing the release of all hostages—both living and deceased.
Human rights groups have condemned Israel’s failure to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire. Countries like the UK, France, and Germany have all voiced their concern over the blockade and the ongoing military escalation.
