Israel launches air strikes on Gaza in heaviest blitz since ceasefire began after Hamas refused to release hostages

ISRAEL launched devastating airstrikes against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in the early hours of this morning.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the blitz – the heaviest since the ceasefire began in January – because of a lack of progress in talks with the terror group.

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His defence minister said Israel had resumed fighting in the Strip while vowing to press ahead until all remaining Israeli hostages were released from Hamas’ grasp.

“If Hamas does not release all the kidnapped, the gates of hell will open in Gaza and Hamas’ murderers and rapists will meet the IDF with forces they have never known before,” Defence Minister Israel Katz warned.

“We will not stop fighting until all the kidnapped return home and all the war’s goals are achieved.”

The terrorists still have around 59 of the 251 hostages they first kidnapped with brute force during the horrors of October 7.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas targets across Gaza – ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire.

More than 100 people have reportedly been killed in the strikes, according to Palestinian health ministry officials.

The devastating strikes were reported in several locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip. 

The IDF said the blitz would continue for as long as necessary and would extend beyond air strikes.

The attacks were far wider in scale than the regular series of drone strikes the Israeli military has said it has conducted against individuals or small groups of suspected militants and follows weeks of failed efforts to agree an extension to the truce agreed on January 19.

The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting.

It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages still held by Hamas terrorists who are still believed to be alive.

Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of “repeated refusal to release our hostages” and rejecting proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” it said in a statement.

In Washington, a White House spokesperson said Israel had consulted the U.S. administration before it carried out the strikes, which the military said targeted mid-level Hamas commanders and leadership officials as well as infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

The strikes come just days after Netanyahu threatened the Hamas terrorists with “consequences you can’t imagine” if the Israeli hostages weren’t freed.

In 2025, thirty-three Israeli captives were returned in the first phase of the ceasefire – including eight bodies.

Three of the bodies returned to Israel included mum Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Kfir and Ariel.

Last month saw family finally laid to rest as they held a touching funeral procession through Israel.

Their heartbroken dad, who was held hostage by Hamas, led thousands of griefstricken Israelis who lined the streets just days after their bodies were handed over by their captors.

Inside October 7

ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.

Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.

The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.

Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.

And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival – killing at least 364 people there alone.

The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.

The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 15 months of devastation that followed.

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