Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Tuesday's renewed bombardment of Gaza was "only the beginning" after the fragile ceasefire was shattered and more than 400 Palestinians killed, according to local health officials.
All future ceasefire negotiations will take place "under fire", Mr Netanyahu said as he vowed to force Hamas to release all remaining hostages.
White House officials confirmed thatDonald Trump “gave the green light” for Israel’s pre-dawn attack.The US president gave Israel the go-ahead after Hamas failed to hand over hostages, an Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal.
The families of those still held in Gaza expressed concern for their loved ones as a senior Hamas official described Israel's airstrikes as a "death sentence" for the remaining hostages.
Gaza's health ministry said at least 263 of those confirmed dead were women or children. A Unicef worker recalled seeing the bodies of “several dozen” children after the strikes. Several high-ranking officials, including the head of Hamas's civil administration Issam al-Daalis, are also among the dead, according to the Hamas-run authorities in Gaza.
France joined several countries including Norway, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia in condemning the strikes.
Key Points
- Israeli strikes across Gaza ‘only the beginning’, says Netanyahu
- Death toll rises to 404 including many women and children, Gaza health authorities say
- Fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza ‘only the beginning’, warns Benjamin Netanyahu
- Donald Trump ‘gave the green light’ for renewed Israeli onslaught on Gaza
- Several dozen children among the dead, says UNICEF worker
- Far-right Ben-Gvir rejoins Israeli government after Gaza attacks resume
Mapped: Israeli evacuation orders and strike sites in Gaza
Tuesday 18 March 2025 10:07
,
Alex Croft
Houthi rebels strike Israel as Hamas appears to exercise restraint
03:58
There were no reports of any attacks by Hamas as of Wednesday morning, some 24 hours after the Israeli bombardment began.
But Yemen's Houthi rebels fired rockets toward Israel for the first time since the ceasefire was agreed in January.
The volley set off sirens in Israel's southern Negev desert but was intercepted before it reached the country's territory, the military said.
The US over the weekend launched deadly strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis, and threatened to carry out more if the group continued to target Red Sea shipping lanes with rockets.
Gaza strikes ‘death sentence’ for hostages
03:38
,
Namita Singh
The White House-approved Israeli strikes on Gaza have raised concerns about the fate of the roughly two dozen hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.
A senior Hamas official said Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to return to war amounts to a "death sentence" for the remaining hostages.
Families of those still held in Gaza expressed concern for their loved ones.
"We are shocked, angry, and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas," the Hostages Families Forum said.
Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to save his right-wing governing coalition.
Different factions of the government had been at odds over what a second ceasefire phase would mean for the future of Gaza.
‘In every room I found the dead’
03:14
,
Namita Singh
The pre-dawn barrage across Gaza shattered the fragile ceasefire that had been in place since January, killing over 400 people according to local health officials in the Hamas-run strip.
It struck homes and shelters and set a tent camp ablaze as families slept or prepared the "sohour," the meal Muslims eat before they start the daily fast in the holy month of Ramadan.
In Gaza City, Omar Greygaa said that after the strikes, he ran out to help survivors in a nearby stricken building.
"In every room I found the dead. ... I finish in one place and go to another, and I find more dead," he said. "I don't know if we're in a state of war or truce."
The attack could signal the full resumption of a war that has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
Renewed Israeli strikes come after Trump warned of ‘all hell breaking out’, White House says
03:01
,
Andy Gregory
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump was “consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza,” she told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
“As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” Leavitt said.
Her words echoed Trump’s warning at the weekend that he would “let hell break out” if Hamas failed to release all the hostages.
National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said Hamas “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
Earlier, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff – who was leading mediation efforts – had demanded Hamas release the remaining live hostages “or pay a severe price.” Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz warned that the “gates of hell will open in Gaza” if the hostages were not returned.
Israeli strikes across Gaza ‘only the beginning’, says Netanyahu
02:55
,
Namita Singh
Israeli airstrikes across Gaza that killed more than 400 Palestinians were “only the beginning” said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he vowed to force Hamas to release all hostages.
Hamas said at least six senior officials were killed in Tuesday's strikes. Israel said they included the head of Hamas's civilian government, a justice ministry official and two security agency chiefs.
All further ceasefire negotiations will take place "under fire", Mr Netanyahu said in a statement aired on national television. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.
The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza and head toward the centre of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations.
The new campaign comes as aid groups warn supplies are running out two weeks after Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel and other goods to Gaza's two million Palestinians.
UAE condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza
02:00
,
Andy Gregory
The United Arab Emirates has condemned Israel’s renewed strikes on Gaza and warned about the repercussions of military escalation, state news agency WAM reported.
Netanyahu thanks Trump for his ‘unwavering support’
01:00
,
Andy Gregory
After ordering renewed strikes on Gaza in which hundreds of people have been killed, Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US president Donald Trump for his “unwavering support”.
In broadcast remarks, the Israeli PM said: “I thank President Trump for his unwavering support for Israel. Our alliance with the United States has never been stronger.
“To those who criticise Israel, I ask, what would you do if terrorists murdered and kidnapped your children?Y ou would do what we are doing.In the face of pure evil, free societies have no choice but to fight.
“So, I want to assure all our friends around the world, Israel will fight and Israel will win. We will bring our people home and we will destroy Hamas. We will not relent until we achieve all these vital goals and we will not rest until we give our country a future of peace, prosperity and hope.”
Israel's surprise bombardment plunged Palestinians back into 'hell'
00:00
,
Alex Croft
The Israeli bombs began falling before dawn, lighting the sky with orange flares and shattering the stillness.
The surprise wave of airstrikes plunged Palestinians back into a nightmare they had hoped might be behind them.
The bombs crashed across Gaza early Tuesday, setting fire to a sprawling tent camp in the southern city of Khan Younis and flattening a Hamas-run prison. They hit the Al-Tabaeen shelter in Gaza City, where Majid Nasser was sleeping with his family.
“I went out to see where the bombing was. Suddenly the second strike happened in the room next to us,” he said. “I heard screaming, my mother and sister screaming, calling for help. I came and entered the room and found the children under the rubble.” Everyone was injured, but alive.
Read the full report:
China and Russia UN envoys condemn strikes
Tuesday 18 March 2025 23:29
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Alex Croft
China and Russia’s envoys to the UN have spoken out against Israel’s strikes on Gaza.
Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become “truly biblical in nature”, calling on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Chinese envoy Fu Cong strongly condemned the strikes, and echoed the need to restore humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Multiple UN figures, France, Norway, and a number of the Arab states have also joined in condemning Israel’s strikes.
Why has Israel launched dozens of strikes on Gaza – and what happens now over the ceasefire?
Tuesday 18 March 2025 23:01
,
Alex Croft
Israel’s military has launched dozens of strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip, shattering a ceasefire with Hamas.
Health officials in the Hamas-run strip said more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, which hit densely populated areas. In Rafah, in southern Gaza, 17 members of a single family were killed, including women and children.
The Israeli military said in a statement: “This preemptive offensive will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes.”
Rachel Clun explains everything we know about the strikes, and what could happen next.
'It was a night of hell... we thought the war was over'
Tuesday 18 March 2025 22:33
,
Alex Croft
For Palestinian mother-of-five Rabiha Jamal, a life of fearing each minute for the safety of her children returned overnight.
"It was a night of hell. It felt like the first days of the war," said Ms Jamal, 65, from Gaza City.
"We were preparing to have something to eat before starting a new day of fasting when the building shook and explosions began. We thought it was over but war is back," she told Reuters.
More than 400 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past day. The Israeli military has vowed to go further than air attacks and has ordered thousands of Palestinians near Gaza’s border with Israel to evacuate.
MSF: Hospitals struggling to cope after ‘absolutely terrifying’ Israeli attacks
Tuesday 18 March 2025 22:01
,
Alex Croft
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Hospitals in Gaza have become desperately overwhelmed after an “absolutely terrifying” night of Israeli attacks, the head of emergencies at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has told The Independent.
Claire Nicolet, who is in Gaza, was woken last night by the “sounds of bombing, heavy bombing, it was absolutely terrifying”.
MSF teams are struggling without the knowledge of whether they can safely move around the Gaza strip, Ms Nicolet added, and the situation is “complicated for hospitals” which are “very overwhelmed”.
She added: “There is very poor access to health care, very poor access to shelter as everything is destroyed.
“The population here is completely afraid. Of course, they saw that this is a full restart of the fighting and they are very scared of what’s next.
“Unfortunately, we also understood that the medical evacuation has stopped for now, which means that normally every day there are a few patients that are going outside [through] Rafah [border crossing with Egypt].
“This will not happen today and we don’t know how it will continue.”
Hamas: Talks with negotiators are ongoing
Tuesday 18 March 2025 21:30
,
Alex Croft
Hamas said on Tuesday that communication with mediators and negotiators is ongoing, as Israel scales up its attacks on the Gaza strip.
The Palestinian militant group says it is keen to implement the next phase of the ceasefire deal, which has stalled after the two sides failed to agree an extension to the truce agreed in January.
Analysis| In bombing Gaza, Netanyahu has chosen domestic politics over hostages
Tuesday 18 March 2025 21:01
,
Alex Croft
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:
In the early hours of Tuesday, families in Gaza were shaken awake by the return of ferocious bombardment from the air and land. The tense calm of a fragile ceasefire – brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt and in place since January – had been shattered.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the renewed offensive, vowing that Israel will “from now on act against Hamas with increasing military strength”, blaming the group for its “repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals”.
It comes just two weeks after he ordered Israel to cut off all food, medicine, fuel, electricity, and other supplies to Gaza’s two million people to try and put pressure on Hamas to accept a new deal.
Mr Netanyahu has seemingly refused to bow to pressure from the families of the hostages to continue the truce and bring their loved ones home.
Israeli jets target ex-Syrian army outposts in Homs, security sources say
Tuesday 18 March 2025 20:28
,
Andy Gregory
Israeli jets have targeted former Syrian army outposts in the central Homs province, Reuters is reporting, citing two security sources.
Houthis: We are at war with the US
Tuesday 18 March 2025 20:01
,
Alex Croft
Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has said it is “at war with the US” and vowed not to "dial down" their action against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea.
The comments, made to Reuters news agency by the group’s foreign minister Jaml Amer, came after the US launched a wave of strikes in parts of Yemen controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said they would resume attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.
"There will be no talk of any dialling down of operations before ending the aid blockade in Gaza. Iran is not interfering in our decision but what is happening is that it mediates sometimes but it cannot dictate things," Mr Amer said, in his first comments on the issue to a foreign news agency.
Netanyahu says Hamas to blame for every civilian casualty after ordering mass strikes
Tuesday 18 March 2025 19:44
,
Andy Gregory
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that “every civilian casualty is the fault of Hamas” after he ordered a renewed assault on Gaza said to have killed more than 400 people.
After bringing a catastrophic end to a shaky two-month ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu said: “Hamas is responsible for this war. It invaded our towns, murdered our people, raped our women and kidnapped our loved ones. Hamas refused offer after offer to release our hostages.
“In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn’t happen. While Israel accepted the offer of President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Hamas flatly refused to do so.
“This is why I authorised yesterday the renewal of military action against Hamas. Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists. And when these terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they are the ones who are responsible for all unintended casualties.
Telling Gazans to “get out of harm’s way” and “move to safer areas”, he added: “Because every civilian casualty is a tragedy and every civilian casualty is the fault of Hamas.”
Trump gave ‘green light’ to Israel before Gaza bombing that left ‘400 dead,’ report says
Tuesday 18 March 2025 19:30
,
Alex Croft
President Donald Trump “gave the green light” for Israel to begin an onslaught on the Gaza Strip that killed at least 400 people early Tuesday, according to a report.
The latest Israeli airstrikes have been described by officials as the most intense attack since the agreed ceasefire came into effect in January.
The president gave Israel the go-ahead after Hamas failed to hand over the hostages, an Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal. Israel then gave the Trump administration a “heads up” before it carried out the attack, according to the outlet.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump was “consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza,” she told Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Namita Singh and Rhian Lubin report:
Netanyahu warns strikes which killed 400 people are ‘only the beginning’
Tuesday 18 March 2025 19:27
,
Andy Gregory
Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza – alleged to have killed more than 400 people today – are “only the beginning”, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned.
Mr Netanyahu ordered the strikes, which are reported to have killed mostly women and children, after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement.
In a statement on national television, he said the attack was “only the beginning” and that Israel would press ahead until it achieves all of its war aims, destroying Hamas and freeing all hostages held by the militant group.
All further ceasefire negotiations will take place “under fire”, he said.
More former Israeli hostages condemn strikes on Gaza
Tuesday 18 March 2025 19:00
,
Alex Croft
In stories on Instagram shared by Israeli media, several Israelis released from Hamas captivity in the first phase of the recent ceasefire have made desperate appeals to the government to prioritize the release of the hostages and resume negotiations.
"Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you? Do you see us?!" wrote former hostage Omer Wenkert. He added that "the sense of being forsaken is the strongest I have ever felt."
Romi Gonen, who was among the first hostages freed in the last ceasefire, said she "will never forget the moment in captivity when I heard the booms after the (first) deal collapsed and realized I would not be freed anytime soon." She wrote, "I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them. And the government of Israel - get them out! This is the most urgent thing."
In pictures: Ravaged Gaza strip endures more death and destruction
Tuesday 18 March 2025 18:31
,
Alex Croft
Lebanon's Hezbollah condemns resumption of Israeli strikes on Gaza
Tuesday 18 March 2025 18:01
,
Alex Croft
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says Israel is attacking Gaza with the Trump administration's backing because neither country respects the agreements they make.
Hezbollah's statement urged the international community to move quickly "to stop this crime."
The Lebanese group says Israel couldn't break the will of the Palestinian "resistance" during 15 months of war, and that the Palestinian people won't be displaced from their land by the fresh wave of strikes.
A fragile ceasefire last year has halted Hezbollah's 14-month war with Israel in support of the Palestinians.
UN says Israeli attacks are erasing humanitarian progress in Gaza
Tuesday 18 March 2025 17:29
,
Alex Croft
All of the "modest gains" made during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire have been destroyed after Israel launched surprise airstrikes, the United Nations' humanitarian chief told the Security Council on Tuesday.
"Overnight, our worst fears materialized after strikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip," Tom Fletcher said in a briefing to the UN's highest body.
He added that the international community "must not and cannot" go back to pre-ceasefire conditions.
The monthlong ceasefire brought some food, shelter and medical relief to Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what remained of their homes.
Emboldened by Trump, does Netanyahu really believe the best way to cling to power is endless war with Gaza?
Tuesday 18 March 2025 17:00
,
Alex Croft
Conscious of the need not to infuriate unnecessarily Benjamin Netanyahu – on whom the fate of the 59 Israelis still held in Gaza depends – the country’s Hostage and Missing Families’ Forum usually tries to weigh its words with care. But the Forum’s reaction to his government’s unilateral resumption of the war in the early hours of Tuesday was unequivocal, accusing it of having “chosen to give up on the hostages”.
This reflects the double agony of the hostages’ families. They fear that the renewed bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces will inevitably endanger the lives of the survivors in Hamas’s hands, as well as, once again, those of Palestinians, whose latest death toll had already reached over 400 by mid-morning on Tuesday, on top of more than 48,000 in 15 months of war.
Donald Macintyre, former Jerusalem Bureau Chief with The Independent, writes:
Former Israeli hostage calls for ceasefire
Tuesday 18 March 2025 16:31
,
Alex Croft
Former hostages and the families of some still held in Gaza have expressed outrage over the resumption of war.
Released hostage Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons were slain in captivity, said on Facebook: "Israel's decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza, to the moments where I heard the sounds of explosions around me and where I feared for my life as I was afraid that the tunnel where I was being held would collapse... Military pressure endangers hostages, an agreement brings them back."
British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari also condemned the resumption of hostilities, saying she was “crushed”.
Eliya Cohen, whose brother Alon is being held in Gaza, said: “The lack of understanding in our country about what is taking place 50 meters underground.
“If there is any understanding, then how to explain this abandonment and lack of attention to human life?”
Responsibility for resumption of violence lies with Hamas, says US
Tuesday 18 March 2025 16:01
,
Alex Croft
Responsibility for Israel’s redumed attack on Gaza lies solely with Hamas and the United States supports Israel in its next 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.
'It was a night of hell... we thought the war was over'
Tuesday 18 March 2025 15:27
,
Alex Croft
For Palestinian mother-of-five Rabiha Jamal, a life of fearing each minute for the safety of her children returned overnight.
"It was a night of hell. It felt like the first days of the war," said Ms Jamal, 65, from Gaza City.
"We were preparing to have something to eat before starting a new day of fasting when the building shook and explosions began. We thought it was over but war is back," she told Reuters.
More than 400 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed by Israeli air strikes in the past day. The Israeli military has vowed to go further than air attacks and has ordered thousands of Palestinians near Gaza’s border with Israel to evacuate.
MSF: Hospitals struggling to cope after ‘absolutely terrifying’ Israeli attacks
Tuesday 18 March 2025 15:12
,
Bel Trew, Chief International Correspondent
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Hospitals in Gaza have become desperately overwhelmed after an “absolutely terrifying” night of Israeli attacks, the head of emergencies at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has told The Independent.
Claire Nicolet, who is in Gaza, was woken last night by the “sounds of bombing, heavy bombing, it was absolutely terrifying”.
MSF teams are struggling without the knowledge of whether they can safely move around the Gaza strip, Ms Nicolet added, and the situation is “complicated for hospitals” which are “very overwhelmed”.
She added: “There is very poor access to health care, very poor access to shelter as everything is destroyed.
“The population here is completely afraid. Of course, they saw that this is a full restart of the fighting and they are very scared of what’s next.
“Unfortunately, we also understood that the medical evacuation has stopped for now, which means that normally every day there are a few patients that are going outside [through] Rafah [border crossing with Egypt].
“This will not happen today and we don’t know how it will continue.”
Palesitinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson killed in Israeli strikes, sources say
Tuesday 18 March 2025 14:52
,
Alex Croft
The spokesperson of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza was killed in an Israeli airstrike, along with his wife and several members of his family, sources associated with the group told Reuters.
Naji Abu Saif, better known as Abu Hamza, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his house in central Gaza, the sources added.
Freed British-Israeli hostage says she is 'crushed' by resumption of fighting
Tuesday 18 March 2025 14:39
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Alex Croft
Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says her "heart is broken, crushed and disappointed" by the resumption of fighting in Gaza.
In a story on Instagram shared by Israeli media, she said she would keep fighting for the remaining hostages.
France condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza
Tuesday 18 March 2025 14:23
,
Alex Croft
France has joined the numerous countries to condemn Israeli strikes on Gaza, following in the wake of Egypt, Norway, Qatar, the UN and others.
The French Foreign Affairs Ministry called for an immediate halt to the violence, it said in a statement, adding that Israel must do all it can to ensure the protection of civilians and re-establish water and electricity.
Hamas: Talks with negotiators are ongoing
Tuesday 18 March 2025 13:50
,
Alex Croft
Hamas has said that communication with mediators and negotiators is ongoing, as Israel scales up its attacks on the Gaza strip.
The Palestinian militant group says it is keen to implement the next phase of the ceasefire deal, which has stalled after the two sides failed to agree an extension to the truce agreed in January.
Half of the dead are children, health official tells The Independent
Tuesday 18 March 2025 13:33
,
Alex Croft
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
Dr. Muhammad Abuafash, director of Palestinian Medical Relief in North Gaza who had been in al-Ahly hospital in Gaza city Tuesday morning, said emergency workers were still pulling the wounded and the dead out from under the rubble.
He told The Independent that so far, half of the dead were children, and most of the injuries were among minors.
“We’re talking about large numbers of children with severed limbs,” he added saying that there were so wounded that medics couldn’t even prioritise who to treat.
“There are not enough medical facilities and supplies, nor are there enough medical personnel. They deal with injuries without preference, unfortunately. Large numbers of wounded people are just lying on the ground,” he said.
“My message to the international community: How long will Israel remain above international law and human rights, destroying trees and stones, and killing children and women?”
Meanwhile, families in the heavily hit north of Gaza—who had only recently returned to their bombed-out homes since the start of the ceasefire—said they had packed their bags, ready to flee south again.
The Israeli military issued “evacuation” orders again on Tuesday, urging civilians in areas including Beit Hanoun to move west or south.
“The gunfire and bullets are heavy. We can hear the sound of tanks clearly,” said one resident.
UK rules out Israel arms embargo after condemning aid blockade
Tuesday 18 March 2025 13:15
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Alex Croft
The UK will not impose an arms embargo on Israel over an aid blockade to Gaza described by the Foreign Secretary as a “breach of international law,” a senior Cabinet minister has said.
Pat McFadden said Britain would instead use “whatever diplomatic influence we have” to seek to restore a ceasefire after hospital officials said hundreds of Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes.
The surprise bombardment early on Tuesday shattered the truce in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.
Israel ordered the strikes after Hamas refused its demands to change the ceasefire terms, and has also cut off aid shipments to Gaza’s two million Palestinians to try to pressure the group to accept.
Read the full report:
Rafah border crossing closed, says EU spokesperson
Tuesday 18 March 2025 14:07
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Alex Croft
The border crossing at Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip, has been closed according to an EU spokesperson.
An EU mission in the area is putting in place emergency procedures, after it had restarted monitoring of the border crossing in early February.
The crossing was previously closed in May 2024, when Israel seized the entire Palestinian side of the border with Egypt.
‘Tragic day for Palestinians,’ UK foreign affairs committee
Tuesday 18 March 2025 12:57
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Alex Croft
The head of the UK’s foreign affairs committee has described the killing of hundreds of Gazans as a tragedy and a “backwards step”.
After the deadliest wave of airstrikes since January’s ceasefire agreement, Dame Emily Thornberry condemned the killings and the “new scenes of destruction”.
“Last night’s attack targeted a population already on their knees and places Israeli and other hostages at further risk,” Dame Emily said.
She added: “The recently-brokered ceasefire deal offered hope to both Gazans and Israelis, many of whom are desperate for peace and for a lasting solution to the violence that has blighted the whole region for generations.
“This is a backwards step and a tragic day for Palestinians.”
Qatar and Saudi Arabia condemn resumed airstrikes
Tuesday 18 March 2025 12:42
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Alex Croft
Qatar, one of the key mediators between Israel and Hamas, has condemned Israel’s strikes on Gaza and called for resumed talks between both parties.
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 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.
In bombing Gaza, Netanyahu has chosen domestic politics over hostages
Tuesday 18 March 2025 12:30
,
Alex Croft
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, families in Gaza were shaken awake by the return of ferocious bombardment from the air and land. The tense calm of a fragile ceasefire - brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt and in place since January - had been shattered.