Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire with at least 413 Palestinians killed in Ramadan massacre

"The civilian casualties from Israeli strikes overnight are appalling,” UK Foreign Minister David Lammy posted on his X account.

He urged all parties to “re-engage with negotiations” to “surge aid and secure a permanent end to this conflict”.

“Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we get security for Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

The civilian casualties from Israeli strikes overnight are appalling.

All parties must re-engage with negotiations to get hostages out, surge aid, and secure a permanent end to this conflict.

Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we get security for Israelis and Palestinians.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) March 18, 2025

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reports that police have used force to disperse demonstrators in Jerusalem calling for the release of captives held by Hamas and protesting against the resumption of the war on Gaza.

Video clips showed police officers dragging protesters and beating others.

Protesters have called for further demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Media channels linked to Yemen’s Houthis have reported strikes by US forces on the city of Saada, the birthplace of their movement in the country’s north.

“A strike by the US aggression” targeted the Saada governorate, said the Houthis’ Saba news agency and Al Masira TV, while witnesses told the AFP news agency there were three attacks on the area.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Iran-backed group – who have pursued a campaign of attacks in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians – launched a missile at Israel, which the Israeli military said was intercepted.

Meanwhile, US air strikes on Yemen killed at least 53 people over the weekend.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Israeli jets struck a military site in central Syria, the latest such attack in recent days.

According to the UK-based war monitor, “Israeli air strikes targeted a missile battalion” near Homs city. It reported explosions in the area but no immediate word on casualties.

A Syrian security source told Al Jazeera that Israeli raids targeted Syrian army positions in Shinshar and Shamsin in the countryside near Homs.

The United Arab Emirates has condemned the massive Israeli attacks on Gaza that killed hundreds of people.

“The UAE has condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, that led to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Palestinians, which constitutes a breach of the ceasefire agreement reached in January,” UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“The UAE warns of the consequences of any military escalation which threatens to cause further loss of innocent life and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

“The UAE has called on the international community to undertake urgent steps to halt escalation, affirming the importance of implementing immediate efforts to reach a ceasefire and safeguard civilians.”

Children’s rights groups have condemned Israel’s latest airstrikes on Gaza, describing the killing of at least 174 children in a single night as a horrifying violation of international law and an act of genocide.

"Today marks one of the largest one-day child death tolls in Gaza in history," said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at Defense for Children International - Palestine.

"Israeli forces have signed a death warrant for Palestinian children in Gaza as they carry out nonstop attacks, destroy civilian infrastructure, and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in need. This is nothing short of genocide."

Save the Children’s Regional Director Ahmad Alhendawi warned: "Children and families in Gaza have barely caught their breath and are now being plunged back into a horrifically familiar world of harm that they cannot escape."

The group Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has called for the resumption of the ceasefire and says Israel is subjecting Gaza to collective punishment.

“In line with the tactics that the Israeli authorities have applied since October 2023, they have once again chosen to collectively punish the people of Gaza – with the explicit approval of their closest ally, the United States – striking with an intensity not seen since the early stages of the war,” Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France, said in a statement.

“Israeli forces undertaking these latest ruthless attacks and evacuation orders make us fear that a new phase of military operations in Gaza is about to begin,” she added.

“Palestinians in Gaza will simply not be able to withstand this, neither physically nor mentally. Their hopes of recovering at least part of their previous lives are being shattered.”

As Israel carries out some of the heaviest bombing of Gaza since the start of the war, medical workers say that hospitals are being overwhelmed with the dead and injured.

"A level of horror and evil that is really hard to articulate. It felt like armageddon," Dr Tanya-Haj Hassan, a volunteer with the Medical Aid for Palestinians aid group, told AP.

She said that the Nasser Hospital emergency room in Khan Younis was chaotic, with patients, including children, spread out on the floor.

Dr Ismail Awad, working at a clinic with Doctors Without Borders, said the number of patients was "overwhelming".

Scarcities of medical supplies have been exacerbated by Israel’s decision to cut off aid to Gaza two weeks ago, as well as electricity one week ago.

"Today marks one of the largest one-day child death tolls in Gaza in history," said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at Defense for Children International - Palestine, following Israel's deadly airstrikes on Gaza.

Eqtaish condemned the strikes as "nothing short of genocide", blaming Israeli forces for relentlessly bombing Gaza, destroying civilian infrastructure, and blocking humanitarian aid.

"Israeli forces have signed a death warrant for Palestinian children in Gaza," Eqtaish added, warning that the humanitarian crisis will only worsen as essential supplies like food, water, and medicine remain cut off.

Relatives of Israeli captives in Gaza warned on Tuesday that Israel's decision to resume its deadly assault on the besieged enclave could put their loved ones at greater risk. This followed a wave of Israeli airstrikes that killed over 400 Palestinians, including at least 174 children.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the Israeli government’s actions, revealing that authorities had ignored their requests to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to discuss how captives would be protected.

The group accused officials of deliberately sabotaging the ceasefire, saying: "Now it becomes clear - public officials didn’t meet with us because they were planning the explosion of the ceasefire, which could sacrifice their family members."

Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s latest airstrikes on Gaza, which killed at least 414 Palestinians, including 174 children, and injured over 550 more following a unilateral resumption of mass attacks.

The strikes came after Israel declared an end to the truce with Hamas.

Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard described the bombing as a "desperately dark day for humanity", noting that families were killed in their sleep, and survivors face severe medical shortages due to Israel’s ongoing siege.

Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, had just three beds available for casualties, while Al-Ahli hospital treated patients in corridors.

Amnesty warned that the destruction of Gaza's healthcare system, coupled with Israel's blockade of aid, fuel, and food, threatens countless lives.

The group urged global leaders to act immediately to stop Israel's attacks and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Maersk on Tuesday denied shipping arms or ammunition to Israel during its war in Gaza in response to a shareholder proposal at its annual general meeting (AGM) but acknowledged shipping military-related cargo.

"Maersk has a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunitions into any active conflict zone," CEO Vincent Clerc told shareholders.

The proposal to ban Maersk from shipping arms to Israel was put forward by Danish shareholder group Kritiske Aktionærer.

Activist group Eko in a separate proposal called for Maersk to enact greater transparency in its human rights processes, particularly focusing on high-risk areas including arms shipments.

"We are fully compliant with all applicable laws," said Clerc, adding that Maersk acts in accordance with United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights and OECD guidelines on responsible business conduct.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen that crossed into Israeli territory.

Sirens had earlier sounded in several areas of Israel.

The Iran-backed Houthi group has repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what it has described as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The firing of the projectile came after Israel resumed airstrikes against targets in Gaza that killed over 400 people

(Reuters)

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that a wave of deadly strikes in the Gaza Strip, after weeks of truce, was "not a one-day attack".

"We found ourselves at an impasse -- no hostage being released and no military action... We struck Hamas and additional terror targets in Gaza. This is not a one-day attack. We will continue the military operation in the coming days," Saar told US pro-Israel lobby AIPAC's Board of Directors in Jerusalem, according to a statement.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday branded Israel a "terror state" following the most intense Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took effect.

"The Zionist regime has once again shown that it is a terror state that feeds on the blood, lives and tears of the innocent with its brutal attacks on Gaza last night," Erdogan said at a Ramadan iftaar dinner.

An intense wave of Israeli strikes on Tuesday prompted deep concern for the more than one million children in the Gaza Strip who "are bearing the brunt of this war", a UNICEF spokeswoman said.

"We are deeply, deeply worried. Children's lives are at risk in so many ways," Rosalia Bollen, a spokeswoman for the United Nations children's fund, told AFP after "a really tough and frightening night for all of us" in Gaza.

"There are over one million children in Gaza, and they are bearing the brunt of this war," said Bollen from Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that "Hamas must understand that the rules of the game have changed", following the deadly strikes.

"If it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will face the full might of the IDF (military) in the air, sea, and on the ground until its complete destruction," the Israeli defence chief was quoted as saying in a ministry statement as he visited the Tel Nof airbase.

Syria's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned a series of deadly Israeli strikes a day earlier, accusing Israel of seeking to sow instability in the country.

A foreign ministry statement denounced "in the strongest terms the recent Israeli air strikes on Daraa", in southern Syria, on Monday which authorities said killed three civilians.

"This aggression is part of an Israeli campaign against the Syrian people and the stability of the country," the statement said.

It added that "these deliberate attacks, launched without reason, reveal Israel's total disregard for international law and norms" and "represent a direct threat to regional and international security".

The Israeli military said it had struck "military targets" in southern Syrian including "command centres and military sites".

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said Gazans were being subjected to an "intolerable level of suffering" following the most intense Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took effect.

"Unfortunately, we are witnessing a situation in which we have an intolerable level of suffering for the Palestinian people, with the air raids that killed hundreds of people," Guterres told reporters at the UN in Geneva.

"We have humanitarian aid still blocked."

Guterres said it was the role of the United Nations to have the international community pressing for three "essential" points to be followed by Israel and Hamas.

Residents of the Gaza Strip have been plunged into "abject fear" once again, UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs head Tom Fletcher said Tuesday, after Israeli strikes resumed on the Palestinian territory.

"Overnight our worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed... and once again, the people of Gaza living in abject fear," he told the UN Security Council in a video meeting.

Responsibility for the resumption of hostilities in Gaza lies solely with Hamas and the United States supports Israel in its neat steps, the acting US ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Dorothy Shea made the statement to a United Nations Security Council briefing after Palestinian health authorities said Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people, ending weeks of relative calm after talks to secure a permanent ceasefire stalled.

(Reuters) 

Egypt said Israel's deadly air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday were part of a bid to "force" the territory's Palestinian residents into displacement.

Egypt, which alongside Qatar and the United States, helped mediate a truce in the Israel-Hamas war that took effect in January, condemned the strikes, branding them a "flagrant violation" of the truce.

In a call between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the pair "condemned and denounced Israel's resumption of hostilities".

The statement from Sisi's office said the strikes were part of "deliberate efforts to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and force the Palestinians into displacement".

The Israeli military said it attacked artillery in the Khan Arnaba area in southern Syria a short time ago on Tuesday.

"The IDF will not allow a military threat to exist in southern Syria and will act against it," the military said in a statement.

After the new Islamist rulers in Syria toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has moved troops into a number of positions in Syrian territory and warned that it would not accept Syrian troops south of Damascus.

(Reuters)

The far-right Otzma Yehudit party, headed by firebrand politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, will rejoin the Israeli government, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud movement said on Tuesday.

"Likud and Otzma Yehudit have agreed that the Otzma Yehudit faction will return to the Israeli government today, and the ministers of Otzma Yehudit will return to the government," said the statement, issued after the deadliest Israeli strikes on Gaza since a January ceasefire. Otzma Yehudit, meaning Jewish power, resigned in January in protest at the truce.

Israel must evacuate all settlers from the West Bank and make reparations for decades of illegal settlement, the UN rights chief said Tuesday, describing the policy as "a war crime".

"The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime," Volker Turk said in a statement.

"Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers."

"Israel's settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violate Palestinians' right to self-determination," Turk said.

Israel says the return to fighting in Gaza was 'fully coordinated with Washington', AFP reported on Tuesday following renewed strikes on the besieged enclave.

"I can confirm that the return to intense fighting in Gaza has been fully coordinated with Washington. Israel has thanked President (Donald) Trump and his administration for their unyielding support for Israel," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said at a press briefing.

Residents of the Gaza Strip have been plunged into "abject fear" once again, UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs head Tom Fletcher said on  Tuesday, after Israeli strikes resumed on the Palestinian territory.

"Overnight our worst fears materialised. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed...and once again, the people of Gaza living in abject fear," he told the UN Security Council in a video meeting.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that a deadly new series of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza put at risk a plan to release captives held by Hamas.

"We are following with great concern the resumption of fighting in Gaza... which jeopardises the objectives we are all working towards: the release of all hostages and a permanent end to hostility, as well as the restoration of full humanitarian assistance in the (Gaza) Strip," Meloni told the Italian Senate.

Scores of Syrian's in the Daraa, located in the country's south, gathered on Tuesday afternoon to rally in solidarity with Gaza following the intense Israeli attacks on the Strip. 

Many of the locals chanted slogans against the Israeli army and supporting Palestinians.

Video footage shared by local Arabic media showed people gathered in the courtyard of the al-Omari mosque, where they repeated: "We are Dataa, we are Gaza, people of dignity and pride". 

Others were heard saying: "Oh Gaza, Daraa is with you until death".

European Council chief Antonio Costa on Tuesday called for an end to the renewed violence on Gaza, after Israel unleashed its most intense strikes since a truce was established two months ago.

"Shocked and saddened by the news coming from Gaza and the many civilian casualties following the Israeli airstrikes last night," said Costa, who heads the body representing the bloc's 27 states.

"Violence must stop and the terms of the ceasefire agreement must be respected. All hostages and detainees must be released, and humanitarian aid must be resumed immediately," he wrote on X.

The Palestinian health ministry said over 400 people were killed after the strikes.

Earlier the EU's aid chief called the fresh violence "devastating".

An Israeli airstrike killed the spokesperson of the armed wing of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad on Tuesday, as well as his wife and several members of his family, sources associated with the group said.

Naji Abu Saif, better known as Abu Hamza, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in central Gaza, the sources added.

(Reuters)

The British government called on Israel and Hamas Tuesday to implement their ceasefire agreement for Gaza "in full", urging all parties to "return urgently to dialogue" to end the fighting.

"We want to see this ceasefire agreement re-established as soon as possible," said Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman, adding that reported civilian casualties from Israeli strikes overnight were "appalling".

France on Tuesday condemned Israel's renewed strikes on Gaza and urged an "immediate" end to the hostilities it says are endangering efforts to free the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the lives of Palestinian civilians.

"France condemns the Israeli strikes carried out since yesterday on the Gaza Strip, which have caused numerous civilian casualties," the French foreign ministry said after the strikes which killed 413 people according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.

"France calls for an immediate end to hostilities, which are jeopardising efforts to free the hostages and threatening the lives of the civilian population in Gaza," it added.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Tuesday that Israel had "no alternative" other than to resume military operations in Gaza after its efforts to secure the release of hostages failed.

"Without the release of our hostages, Israel has no alternative but resuming military operations", he said on X after Israeli strikes killed more than 400 people in Gaza, accusing Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas of rejecting an offer to extend the ceasefire's first phase that ended earlier this month.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP Tuesday that the Israeli strikes were an attempt to force the group's "surrender", and called the United States "complicit" in the escalation.

"The aim of the massacres committed by the occupation in Gaza is to undermine the ceasefire agreement and attempt to impose a surrender agreement, writing it in the blood of Gaza," Abu Zuhri told AFP in a statement.

The border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Rafah is closed, a spokesperson for the European Commission said on Tuesday.

"The crossing point is closed and the EUBAM mission of the European Union has started to put in place emergency procedures to deal with the situation as it develops," the spokesperson told reporters in Brussels.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it was continuing to strike across the Gaza Strip, claiming to be targeting sites belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli military said targets struck over the past few hours included "militant cells", weapons stockpiles and other military infrastructure used by Hamas "to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers".

(Reuters)

Former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who left the government over disagreements about the ceasefire in Gaza, is rejoining the coalition, a joint party statement said on Tuesday, after Israel resumed strikes on the enclave.

Ben-Gvir's return will strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which was left with only a thin parliamentary majority following his departure in January.

(Reuters) 

Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned on Tuesday Israel's strikes on Gaza and said there was a need for talks to resume in order to implement the phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Qatar's foreign ministry "warns that (Israel's) escalating policies will ultimately ignite the region and undermine its security and stability", it said in a statement.

Russia on Tuesday condemned Israel's renewed strikes on the Gaza strip, which killed more than 400 people.

"Moscow deeply regrets Israel's resumption of its military operation in the Gaza Strip," the Russian foreign ministry said. "Russia strongly condemns any action that leads to the death of civilians and destruction of social infrastructure."

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called Tuesday for the international community to "compel" Israel to end its "aggression" in Gaza.

Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the strikes in a statement and called on "the international community to compel the occupation to stop its aggression against our people everywhere in the Gaza Strip", while Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa issued a similar call during a Palestinian Authority cabinet meeting.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it denounces "in the strongest terms" Israel resuming strikes on Gaza, and called on the international community to step in to stop what it described as crimes against the Palestinians.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 400 people, threatening the complete collapse of a two-month ceasefire as Israel vowed to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.

(Reuters)

The EU's aid commissioner called Tuesday for an immediate end to the renewed violence in Gaza after Israel unleashed its most intense strikes since a ceasefire.

"The renewed escalation in Gaza is devastating. Civilians have endured unimaginable suffering. This must stop," commissioner Hadja Lahbib wrote on X, saying "it is imperative to return to a ceasefire immediately".

The renewed escalation in Gaza is devastating. Civilians have endured unimaginable suffering. This must stop.

IHL must be respected & humanitarian aid must flow into Gaza.

It is imperative to return to a ceasefire immediately to prevent further loss of life and destruction.

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) March 18, 2025

Iran condemned Israel's wave of air strikes in Gaza on Tuesday.

In a statement, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the strikes a "continuation of the genocide and ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territories and accused the United States of "direct responsibility" in the attack.

Baqaei warned of the "catastrophic consequences and implications of this situation on global peace and security".

Jordan condemned an Israeli wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

"We have been following since last night Israel's aggressive and barbaric bombing of the Gaza Strip," government spokesman Mohammed Momani said, underlining "the need to stop this aggression".

Hamas on Tuesday said it blamed the US administration's "unlimited political and military support" for Israel for a deadly wave of air strikes in Gaza.

"With its unlimited political and military support for the occupation (Israel), Washington bears full responsibility for the massacres and the killing of women and children in Gaza," Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas on Tuesday named the head of its government in the Gaza Strip, Essam al-Dalis, among a list of officials it said were killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.

"These leaders, along with their families, were martyred after being directly targeted by the Zionist occupation forces' aircraft," said the Hamas statement, which also named interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa and Bahjat Abu Sultan, director-general of the internal security service, among those killed.

The Egyptian foreign ministry condemned Israel's deadly overnight air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, calling them a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire.

The strikes constitute a "dangerous escalation which threatens to have brought serious consequences for the stability of the region", said the statement from Egypt, which brokered the Gaza ceasefire alongside Qatar and the United States.

Turkey said on Tuesday that Israel's attacks on Gaza amounted to a "new phase in its policy of genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to take a determined stance to ensure a ceasefire is upheld and humanitarian aid is delivered.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry added it was unacceptable for Israel to cause a "new cycle of violence" in the region, adding the Israeli government's "hostile approach" threatened the future of the Middle East.

(Reuters)

The Red Cross said many medical facilities in the Gaza Strip were "overwhelmed" on Tuesday after Israel unleashed its most intense strikes on the Palestinian territory since a ceasefire was struck.

"What we heard from Palestine Crescent colleagues this morning is that many medical facilities are literally overwhelmed across Gaza," Tommaso Della Longa, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said at a briefing in Geneva.

Palestinian health officials say the death toll from the new Israeli offensive in Gaza has jumped to 413.

A massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed an Israeli captive and wounded at least two others, a senior Hamas leader told The New Arab’s Arabic language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The captive, who has not yet been identified, was killed after an Israeli jet targeted the site where they were held in Gaza.

The Hamas official explained that the group previously warned about that Israeli bombings were killing captives and reiterated that the remaining hostages cannot be freed without a negotiation process.

The UN human rights chief said he was horrified by Israeli' strikes on Gaza which Palestinian authorities say have killed hundreds, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

"I am horrified by last night's Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy," said High Commissioner Volker Turk in a statement.

"Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."

(Reuters)

The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after Israel struck Gaza and hoped that peace would return.

"Undoubtedly, it's another deterioration in the situation (in Gaza) and another spiral of escalation that is causing our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Especially concerning of course are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population," Peskov added.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and, of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course.”

The families of Israeli captives in Gaza demanded Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "stop the killing and disappearance of the hostages" after Israel launched its deadliest strikes on the territory since a January ceasefire.

"The families of the [captives] demand a meeting this morning with the prime minister, the defence minister and the head of the negotiation team, in which they will be assured how the hostages will be protected from the military pressure and how they intend to bring them back," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

"The families of the hostages will demand: Stop the killing and disappearance of the hostages now! First, return them -- then everything else."

The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated after Israeli air strikes pounded the enclave on Tuesday, threatening a complete collapse of the two-month truce.

"Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning....This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.

(Reuters)

China on Tuesday called for steps to prevent a "humanitarian disaster" in Gaza, after Israel unleashed its most intense strikes on the territory since a ceasefire.

"China is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, calling for the parties to "avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster".

The Israeli army ordered Gazans to evacuate areas near the border after it unleashed a wave of deadly overnight strikes, the most intense since a ceasefire began in January.

In a post on X, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning to residents "specifically in the neighbourhoods of Beit Hanoun, Khirbet Khuza'a, Abasan al-Kabira and Al-Jadida". "These designated areas are considered dangerous combat zones... For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to the known shelters in western Gaza City and those in Khan Younis," the post said.

#عاجل ‼️ تحذير إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في المنطقة المحددة بالأحمر وتحديدًا في أحياء بيت حانون، خربة خزاعة، عبسان الكبيرة والجديدة

⭕️بدأ جيش الدفاع الإسرائيلي هجومًا قوياً ضد المنظمات الإرهابية. هذه المناطق المحددة تعتبر مناطق قتال خطيرة!

⭕️من أجل أمنكم عليكم الإخلاء… pic.twitter.com/N5Hug8TpXw

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 18, 2025

Israel will fight on in Gaza for "as long as the [captives] are not returned", Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday after Israel resumed air strikes on the battered territory.

"We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved," Katz said. Apart from the release of the remaining hostages, Israel's other main war aim is to crush Hamas.

Yemen's Houthi rebels condemned Israel's wave of strikes on Gaza, vowing to escalate its own operations in support of its ally Hamas after threatening to renew attacks on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea.

"We condemn the Zionist enemy's resumption of aggression against the Gaza Strip," the Huthis' supreme political council said in a statement.

"The Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battle, and Yemen will continue its support and assistance, and escalate confrontation steps," it added.

Two Hamas sources told AFP on Tuesday that Israel's overnight strikes on Gaza killed General Mahmud Abu Watfa, who headed the militant movement's interior ministry in the territory.

Abu Watfa, who headed Hamas's police and internal security services in the Gaza Strip, was killed in a strike on Gaza City, said the two sources, one of them an official at the interior ministry.