Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday’s airstrikes in Gaza were “only the beginning” and that all ceasefire negotiations will take place “under fire.” (AP Video / March 18, 2025)
By Wafaa Shurafa, Josef Federman And Samy Magdy The Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday that killed more than 400 Palestinians, local health officials said, shattering a ceasefire in place since January as it vowed to force Hamas to release more hostages and relinquish control of the territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to free half of the remaining hostages as a precondition for extending the ceasefire. Israel’s deadliest bombardment of the territory in the 17-month war killed mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.