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 that Donald Trump was “consulted” before Israel’s pre-dawn attack, while an Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal that the US president “gave the green light” after Hamas failed to hand over hostages.
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.
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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
- Trump ‘gave green light’ to Israel before Gaza bombing
- Families of dead hostages condemn Israeli government decision to strike Gaza
- Several dozen children among the dead, says UNICEF worker
Palestinians ordered to evacuate eastern Gaza again
07:48
,
Namita Singh
New Israeli evacuation orders have been issued covering Gaza's eastern flank next to Israel and stretching into a key corridor dividing Gaza's north and south.
Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, published a map on X telling Palestinians in those areas, including some highly-populated neighbourhoods, to leave immediately and head for shelters.
"Continuing to remain in the designated areas puts your life and the lives of your family members at risk," he said.
The evacuation zone appeared to include parts of Gaza's main north-south road, raising questions about how people might travel. Palestinians nevertheless gathered their belongings and set out, hardly knowing where to go.
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Unicef spokesperson Rosalia Bollen recalled that the days before the bombardment felt uneasy. She could sense fear. Children would ask if she believed the war would start again.
"This nightmare scenario has been on everyone's mind," she said.
"It's just heartbreaking that it is materialising right now and that it is shattering the last piece of hope that people had."
Doctors in Palestine forced to operate without light bulbs
07:33
,
Namita Singh
Medical staff at the Al-Attar clinic in Muwasi in southern Gaza said they were forced to operate without light bulbs and emergency ventilation devices.
Israel not only blocked all supplies from entering Gaza two weeks ago but also cut off electricity to the territory's main desalination plant last week. That has again created scarcities in medicine, food, fuel and fresh water for Gaza's over two million people.
Dr Ismail Awad with the Doctors Without Borders aid group said the clinic received about 26 wounded people, including a woman seven months pregnant with shrapnel in her neck.
She later died."It was overwhelming, the number of patients," Dr Awad said.
In bombing Gaza, Netanyahu has chosen domestic politics over hostages
07:21
,
Namita Singh
Israel’s overnight bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 400 people, shattering hopes of long-term peace and the return of Israel’s hostages, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew.
Hospitals 'felt like Armageddon'
07:20
,
Namita Singh
Scenes at hospitals in Gaza recalled the early days of the war, when Israel launched a massive bombardment of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
Survivors on Tuesday held rushed funeral rites over dozens of body bags lining the yard of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Mothers sobbed over the bloodied bodies of children, as warplanes hummed overhead. Doctors struggled to treat the flow of wounded.
"A level of horror and evil that is really hard to articulate. It felt like Armageddon," said Dr Tanya-Haj Hassan, a volunteer with the Medical Aid for Palestinians aid group.
She described the Nasser Hospital emergency room in Khan Younis as chaos, with patients, including children, spread across the floor. Some were still wrapped in the blankets they had slept in.
‘My children died while they were hungry’
07:17
Fedaa Heriz, a displaced woman in Gaza City, said victims of Israeli attack were killed in their sleep just before the predawn meal ahead of the daily Ramadan fast.
"They set the alarm to wake up for suhoor, and they wake up to death? They don't wake up?" she screamed.
Fedaa Hamdan lost her husband and their two children in the strikes in Khan Younis.
"My children died while they were hungry," she said, as funeral prayers were held over their bodies.
Israel's surprise bombardment plunged Palestinians back into 'hell'
06:52
,
Namita Singh
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.
Palestinians tried to claw bodies from the wreckage with their bare hands. Parents arrived at hospitals, barefoot, carrying children who were limp and covered in ash. Streets and hospitals filled with bodies.
By midday, over 400 people had been killed, said local health officials. It was one of the deadliest days of the 17-month war, following two months of ceasefire. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan had even provided moments of joy as families held communal sunset meals ending each day's fast without the fear of bombardment.
"What is happening to us is hell. Hell in every sense of the word," said Zeyad Abed, as he stood among the blackened remains of tents in Khan Younis.
Why has Israel launched dozens of strikes on Gaza?
06:37
,
Namita Singh
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.”
Here’s what we know about the strikes, and what could happen next.
UN Secretary General condemns ‘intolerable level of suffering’ for Palestinians
06:30
,
Namita Singh
As the UN Security Council met to discuss Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the strikes on Palestinians.
"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," he told reporters in Geneva.
“We have humanitarian aid still blocked,” he said.
He demanded international community to press Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas to follow three “essential” points.
"First, for the ceasefire to be fully respected. Second, for humanitarian aid to have access to Gaza in an unimpeded way. And third, for the unconditional release of hostages," said Mr Guterres."And we will not give up on these objectives."
What has happened to the Israel-Gaza ceasefire?
06:27
,
Namita Singh
Israel launched dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bringing the relative calm of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to an abrupt end.
More than 400 Palestinians across Gaza have been killed, including women and children, according to health officials.Israel says the operation is open-ended and expected to expand, raising fears of the 17-month-old war reigniting, report David Rising and Tia Goldenberg.
Trump ‘gave green light’ to Israel before Gaza bombing
06:11
,
Namita Singh
President Donald Trump “gave the green light” for Israel to begin an onslaught on the Gaza Strip that killed at least 400 people early on Tuesday, according to a report.
The president gave Israel the go-ahead after Hamas failed to hand over the hostages, an Israeli official told theWall 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 Mr 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,” Ms Leavitt said.
Her words echoed Mr 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, US envoy Steve Witkoff – who was leading mediation efforts – had demanded Hamas release the remaining live hostages “or pay a severe price”.
Several dozen children killed in 'tough' night, says UNICEF staffer
06:01
,
Alex Croft
A United Nations worker in the Gaza Strip says she has seen “at least several dozen children killed” in what was a “very tough night” as Israel resumed heavy strikes on the enclave.
Rosalia Bollen, a communications specialist with the UN children's agency, said she woke up around 2 a.m. on Tuesday to "very loud explosions”.
The UNICEF base near the southern city of Rafah "was shaking very heavily”, Ms Bollen said, before she heard "people yelling, people screaming and ambulances” after the strikes subsided.
"The bombardments have continued throughout the night," though at a lower intensity than the initial barrage, she said.
"The whole night, there's been just the constant buzzing of drones and planes flying over."
She said the strikes hit tents and structures housing displaced families.
Families of dead hostages condemn Israeli government decision to strike Gaza
05:35
,
Namita Singh
Some families who already know their relatives in Gaza are dead have criticised the Israeli government's decision to resume airstrikes.
"This is not only a disaster in every way, shape or form on how the hostages keep suffering, being chained to walls, starved, abused, but also the death toll that keeps rising on the Gazan side," Udi Goren said.
His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on 7 October and his body was taken into Gaza. Mr Goren said the international community must pressure Hamas, Israel and the mediators – the United States, Egypt and Qatar – to end the war.
"Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you?" former hostage Omer Wenkert wrote on Instagram.
Romi Gonen, among the first hostages to be freed in the ceasefire's first phase, said she would never forget what it felt like in captivity to hear the bombs after previous ceasefire talks collapsed and realise she wouldn't be freed any time soon.
"I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them," she said on Instagram.
Sylvia Cunio, whose two sons are held hostage, accused Israel's leaders of not having a heart.
"It isn't right to continue the fighting. I want my children back home already. If he wants to kill me, the prime minister, let him do that already because I won't get through this," she said on local radio.
Kins of hostages in Gaza are terrified they won’t return after Israel resumes fighting
05:12
,
Namita Singh
When a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began two months ago, Herut Nimrodi knew it would take time before her son was released from captivity in Gaza.
The 20-year-old soldier was meant to be part of the second phase of the deal winding down the war.
But with Israel's surprise bombardment of Gaza, she fears he might not come home at all.
"I really wanted to believe that there is still a chance to reach a second stage without renewing this war. But it feels like my building of hope has collapsed, and I have no idea what to do next," Ms Nimrodi told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
During the ceasefire's first phase, which began in January, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But since that phase ended early this month, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward.
Israel's renewed airstrikes threaten to end the fragile deal.
Ms Nimrodi's son, Tamir, was abducted from his army base when Hamas stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. She's had no sign of life. He hasn't been declared dead by Israel.
The strikes early on Tuesday killed more than 400 people and shattered a relative calm — along with hopes of ending the war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the airstrikes because of lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire.
The return to fighting could deepen the painful debate in Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.
"It's so sad that this is the only solution that they could find," she said, lamenting the government's decision.
Former hostage expresses fears for captives held in Gaza after ceasefire collapses
05:00
,
Andy Gregory
The Associated Press reports that former hostages have expressed “horror” at the collapse of the ceasefire and urged the Israeli government to return to the negotiating table.
Israeli-American former hostage Keith Siegel told the news agency that his Hamas captors became violent after the first ceasefire collapsed in November 2023 and fighting resumed.
He said: “Today, a year and four months later, the ceasefire has collapsed again. I think of the 59 hostages still being held in Gaza. How afraid they are, not only of the terrorists’ cruelty and of Israeli attacks, but also of the collapse of the negotiations that will prevent their return home.”
Fresh US strikes target Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen – report
04:50
,
Namita Singh
At least 10 US strikes targeted areas in Yemen, including Saada province and Hodeidah, controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, local media reported early on Wednesday.
The US launched a wave of strikes against the Houthis at the weekend, who said last week they were resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.
Houthi missiles were also launched towards Israel on Tuesday after the Israeli military's pre-dawn bombardment of Gaza.
Houthi forces detected hostile military movements in the Red Sea in preparation for launching a large-scale air attack on the country, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Wednesday.
Mr Sarea said, without offering evidence, that Houthis targeted the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman and other warships with missiles and drones, thwarting the US attack.
Released hostages and Israeli demonstrators call on the government to resume negotiations
04:00
,
Andy Gregory
Thousands of Israelis packed a Tel Aviv square to protest Netanyahu's intention to fire the country's domestic security chief and to call on the government to resume negotiations for a hostage deal.
The Shin Bet security chief, Ronen Bar, has been a key player in ceasefire talks but was recently replaced by a Netanyahu confidant.
Mr Netanyahu now wants to fire Mr Bar, saying he has lost trust in him. Demonstrators say the dismissal is a power grab by Netanyahu.
Many also said the resumption of fighting in Gaza endangers the hostages still held there. “Today Netanyahu did not open the gates of hell on Hamas. He opened the gates of hell on our loved ones,” said Einav Zangauker, whose son is among the hostages.
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
,
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 i