PM: IDF launching strikes throughout Gaza after Hamas refused repeated hostage deal offers
Israel updated the Trump administration in advance about IDF strikes in Gaza
The IDF is launching strikes throughout Gaza after receiving orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to “act forcefully” against Hamas amid the terror group’s refusal to release Israeli hostages, the premier’s office says.
The IDF attacks appear to mark a return to the Israeli military campaign against Hamas that was halted with the start of a ceasefire on Jan. 19, though the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office does not explicitly say this.
“At the direction of the political echelon, the IDF and Shin Bet are extensively attacking Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,” the IDF and Shin Bet say in a subsequent joint statement, adding that additional details will be provided shortly.
Netanyahu’s office says Hamas “rejected all offers it received” from US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff and the other mediators.
Hamas has insisted on sticking with the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase at the beginning of the month. That phase envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages. While Israel signed on to the deal, Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel will not end the war until Hamas’s governing and military capabilities have been destroyed.
Accordingly, Israel refused to even hold talks regarding the terms of phase two, which were supposed to begin on Feb. 3.
Nonetheless, the ceasefire had been remaining in place for roughly two and a half weeks, as the mediators worked to broker new terms for its extension.
Accepting Israel’s aversion to phase two, Witkoff presented a bridge proposal last week that would have seen phase one extended for several weeks during which five living hostages would be released. The US envoy said Sunday that Hamas’ response to the offer was a “non-starter” and warned of impending consequences if the terror group did not change its approach.
In its statement announcing the overnight strike, Netanyahu’s office says they are aimed at achieving Israel’s war aims, which are the dismantlement of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and the return of the hostages.
Hostage families have long argued that those aims contradict each other and that a return to fighting will endanger their loved ones.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” Netanyahu’s office says, adding that the plans for the resumption of IDF operations were approved last week by the political echelon. PJC
comments