Israeli strikes on Gaza kill more than 400 people – health ministry

WASHINGTON — The health ministry in Gaza said that Israeli strikes on the war-torn Strip, by far the deadliest since a truce took effect in January, have killed than 400 people. 

The United States said Tuesday that Hamas bore full blame for Israel's massive deadly airstrikes, saying the group could have accepted a ceasefire extension proposal by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

"Hamas bears total responsibility for the war, and for the resumption of hostilities," a State Department spokesperson said.

"Every death would have and could have been avoided had Hamas accepted the 'bridge' proposal that SE Witkoff offered last Wednesday."

It was a reference to ideas from Witkoff, a friend of President Donald Trump, to ease Israel and Hamas toward extending a ceasefire.

Israel said it had no choice but to resume fighting to free remaining hostages seized on October 7, 2023. The health ministry in Gaza said that more than 400 people died. 

"Hamas is delaying the compelling deal in front of us and forcing Palestinians to suffer the consequences," the State Department spokesperson said.

National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said earlier: "Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war."

The Trump administration has staunchly backed Israel, whose resumed military operations drew condemnation from most world capitals which reacted.

Israel's deadly strikes on Gaza drew global condemnation on Tuesday, as it said it had "no alternative" other than to resume military operations in order to bring home hostages.

The strikes, by far the deadliest since a truce took effect in January, killed more than 400 people, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Israel vowed to continue fighting until all the hostages seized by Palestinian fighters were returned, while Hamas, which has not responded militarily so far, accused it of attempting to force it to "surrender".

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas this month of consequences it "cannot imagine" if it did not free the hostages still in Gaza, and Israeli media has reported on a scheme aimed at ramping up pressure on Hamas dubbed the "Hell Plan".

"Without the release of our hostages, Israel has no alternative but resuming military operations," foreign minister Gideon Saar said.

The White House said Israel consulted Trump's administration before launching the strikes, while Israel said the return to fighting was "fully coordinated" with Washington.

The United Nations and countries around the world condemned the strikes, while the families of Israeli hostages pleaded with Netanyahu to halt the violence.

Netanyahu's office said the operation was ordered after "Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators".

"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," the statement said.

US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes blamed Hamas, saying it "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war".

Hamas said Israel had "decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement", calling it "a decision to sacrifice the occupation's prisoners and impose a death sentence on them".

Hamas said the head of its government in Gaza, Essam Al Dalis, was among several officials killed.

The group's leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, told AFP the aim of the strikes was "to undermine the ceasefire agreement and attempt to impose a surrender agreement, writing it in the blood of Gaza".

 'Fire of hell' 

In the southern Gaza Strip, AFP footage showed people rushing stretchers with wounded people, including young children, to hospital. Bodies covered with white sheets were also taken to the hospital's mortuary.

Mohammed Jarghoun, 36, was sleeping in a tent near his destroyed house in Khan Yunis when he was awakened by huge blasts.

"I thought they were dreams and nightmares, but I saw a fire in my relatives' house. More than 20 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women."

Ramez Al Amarin, 25, described carrying children to hospital southeast of Gaza City.

"They unleashed the fire of hell again on Gaza," he said of Israel.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the bodies of 413 people had been received by Gaza hospitals, adding "a number of victims are still under the rubble".

A spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said at a briefing in Geneva "that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza".

UN chief 'shocked' 

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza called for a protest in front of Netanyahu's residence, with a campaign group accusing him and other officials of dodging meetings with them "because they were planning the explosion of the ceasefire, which could sacrifice their family members".

UN chief Antonio Guterres was "shocked" by the renewed strikes, a spokesperson said, while UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "horrified".

Britain and France both called for the renewed hostilities to end.

Hamas backer Iran denounced the wave of attacks as a "continuation of the genocide and ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territories.

Jordan, Russia and China warned against an escalation, while Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey condemned the violence.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said in a statement that the strikes were part of "deliberate efforts to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and force the Palestinians into displacement".

Trump has floated a proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza, suggesting that Egypt or Jordan could take them in.

Both countries have rejected the notion, but some right-wing politicians in Israel have embraced it.

Netanyahu's Likud movement said Tuesday that the far-right Otzma Yehudit party would rejoin the government, having withdrawn in January in protest of the truce.

Deadlock 

Brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the ceasefire took effect on January 19, largely halting the war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

That first phase of the deal ended in early March, and the two sides have been unable to agree on the next steps.

US envoy Witkoff told CNN on Sunday he had offered a "bridge proposal" that would see five living hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, released in return for freeing a "substantial amount of Palestinian prisoners" from Israeli jails.

Hamas had said it was ready to free Alexander and the remains of four others.

Witkoff said Hamas had provided "an unacceptable response".

During the truce's first phase, Hamas released 33 hostages, including eight deceased, in exchange for Israel freeing around 1,800 Palestinian detainees.

Hamas has consistently demanded negotiations for the second phase, which should lead to a lasting ceasefire.

Israel had sought to extend the first phase until mid-April, cutting off aid and electricity to Gaza over the deadlock.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in 1,218 deaths, while Israel's retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,577 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the two sides.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 58 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.