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.

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

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.

Negotiating teams from Israel and Hamas had been in Doha as mediators from Egypt and Qatar sought to bridge the gap between the two sides following the end of an initial phase in the ceasefire, which saw 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais returned by militant groups in Gaza in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

With the backing of the United States, Israel had been pressing for the return of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for a longer-term truce that would have halted fighting until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday in April.

However Hamas had been insisting on moving to negotiations for a permanent end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, in accordance with the terms of the original ceasefire agreement.

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