Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Israel Katz ordered the IDF to take strong action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip last night. The announcement of the operation stated that the decision to resume fighting was made "after Hamas refused time after time to release our hostages and rejected all the proposals it received from the US envoy, Steve Witcoff, and from the intermediaries."
The IDF launched aerial attacks on a wide range of targets in the Gaza Strip overnight. A White House spokesperson told Fox News that the attacks were carried out after consultation with the US administration.
Among the targets were mid-level Hamas commanders, senior figures in the group’s political arm, and terrorism infrastructure. The plan for the operation was presented by the IDF at the end of last week and approved by the ministers. Despite the tension between Netanyahu and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Bar was at military headquarters alongside Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir overseeing execution of the operation.
The IDF states that the attack will continue for as long as necessary, and will be expanded beyond airborne operations, because of Hamas’s preparations for carrying out terrorist attacks and its rearmament. This morning, Hamas claimed that more than 300 people had been killed in the strikes on the Gaza Strip. The The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has accused the government of abandoning the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 18, 2025.
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