Egypt Daily News – Hundreds of Palestinians killed as Israel resumes its war on Gaza after days of relative calm following a temporary ceasefire agreement. The Israeli decision came amid accusations that Hamas refused to release hostages.
On Tuesday, Israel’s defense minister stated, “Tel Aviv has returned to fighting in Gaza due to Hamas’s refusal to release the detainees and its threats against soldiers and Israeli areas.”
Israeli minister Israel Katz warned the Islamist movement, saying, “If all hostages are not released, the gates of hell will open in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented on the resumption of military operations, saying, “This is a gradual step that we have built and planned in recent weeks, and it will look completely different from what has been done so far.”
In a related development, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump gave Israel the green light to resume military operations. The newspaper quoted the U.S. president’s office as saying, “Trump supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to war and sent bombers and aircraft carriers to defend Israel.” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes stated, “Hamas could have released the prisoners and extended the ceasefire, but it chose rejection and war.”
A Hamas official announced on Tuesday that one Israeli prisoner in Gaza had been killed and two others injured due to Israeli airstrikes on the enclave early in the morning. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that Israeli strikes had killed more than 400 people and injured dozens in different areas of the strip. The Gaza government media office accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement and continuing what it described as “genocide against civilians.”
In another escalation, Israeli media reported that Israel had closed the Rafah border crossing, preventing patients and wounded individuals from leaving Gaza, worsening the already dire humanitarian crisis due to severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement confirming that “the prime minister and the defense minister have ordered the attack to achieve the war’s objectives, including the release of all hostages, both alive and dead.”
The Yemeni Armed Forces issued a statement announcing a military operation targeting the Nevatim Airbase with a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile, successfully hitting its target. The attack was carried out in response to Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli military said that it was shot down by the long-range Arrow air defense system over Saudi Arabia.
