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Israeli forces launched deadly aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, ending a temporary cease-fire with Hamas that began in January, and raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.<\/p>\n
More than 400 people, including children, were killed in the strikes, Gaza\u2019s health ministry said. Those numbers did not distinguish between civilians and combatants \u2014 but the relentless Israeli bombardment produced one of the war\u2019s deadliest single-day tolls.<\/p>\n
The attacks came after weeks of fruitless negotiations<\/a> aimed at extending the fragile cease-fire, which paused 15 months of devastating fighting in the territory. The truce\u2019s first phase expired in early March, but it had largely held as diplomats worked to broker an extension to free the surviving Israeli hostages and end the war.<\/p>\n The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he had ordered the military operation after Hamas\u2019s \u201crepeated refusal\u201d to release the remaining captives seized in the Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel and the bodies of those hostages who have died. Of the 59 remaining in Gaza, fewer than half are believed to be alive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFrom now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military strength,\u201d the prime minister\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n In an address later on Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu suggested that more Israeli attacks in Gaza were coming and would be carried out in tandem with negotiations with Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will keep fighting to achieve all of the war\u2019s objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hamas officials argued that Israel had brazenly overturned the truce, but did not immediately respond militarily to the strikes. It was unclear whether the Palestinian armed group \u2014 badly weakened after more than a year of war \u2014 would strike back or head to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas\u2019s political office, said the group still hoped to restore the cease-fire but reserved the right to respond. \u201cHow to respond is left to those on the ground,\u201d he said in a phone interview. \u201cThey know and understand how to respond to the occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n Gideon Saar, Israel\u2019s foreign minister, said the decision to strike had been made several days ago, after Hamas rejected two proposals offered by Steve Witkoff, President Trump\u2019s Middle East envoy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a one-day operation,\u201d Mr. Saar said in a speech on Tuesday in Jerusalem. \u201cWe will pursue military action in the days to come. We found ourselves in a dead end, with no hostages released and no military action. This situation cannot continue.\u201d<\/p>\n In Israel, relatives of the hostages said the renewed Israeli attacks had heightened their fears that the remaining captives might never return alive. They accused Mr. Netanyahu and his government of abandoning the hostages, and some gathered in rallies demanding an immediate deal with Hamas to secure their freedom.<\/p>\n