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Israel launched new strikes on the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday after ceasefire talks with Hamas stalled, killing more than 400 people, the enclave's Health Ministry said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had instructed the military to strike Hamas across Gaza, blaming the group for refusing to release hostages and rejecting all offers from the US envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
In a post on Telegram, the Israeli army said it was “conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip”.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the Prime Minister's office said.
Two senior officials working with Gaza's Interior Ministry were among the fatalities. The ministry said in a statement that its undersecretary Maj Gen Mahmoud Abu Watfa, 58, and director general of the internal security service Maj Gen Bahjat Abu Sultan, 56, were killed in one of the strikes.
The strikes come after nearly two months after a ceasefire was agreed on to pause the 17-month war. Under the terms of the truce, dozens of hostages were released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Ceasefire negotiations in Egypt were at a standstill on Monday, with neither side willing to make the compromises needed to reach a deal, sources told The National.
Following Tuesday's strikes, Hamas blamed Israel and Mr Netanyahu for breaking the ceasefire. “Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate,” the group said, demanding that mediators and the international community hold Israel responsible.
“Netanyahu not only prevented food and medicine from entering Gaza, but also bombed and killed children in their sleep. The enemy will not achieve through war and destruction what it failed to achieve through negotiations.”
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said “the gates of hell will open in Gaza” if hostages are not released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he added.
The strikes also come after Israel carried out attacks in Deraa, Syria. Two civilians were killed and 19 injured in the air strikes, Syrian state media reported.
The Israeli army confirmed the attacks, which were the latest on Syria's military infrastructure. It said it struck military headquarters and sites containing weapons and equipment.
Read next: Hamas-Israel ceasefire negotiations in Egypt at a stalemate
