Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks on Gaza, which killed hundreds of people, mostly women and children, were "just the beginning," adding that Israel would continue until it achieved all of the war's goals: to destroy Hamas and free all hostages held by the Palestinian group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
Netanyahu ordered the attacks that killed over 400 people after Hamas rejected a demand to change the ceasefire agreement reached in January.
Netanyahu said that future ceasefire negotiations would be held "under fire."
The Israeli military has ordered people to leave eastern Gaza and head towards the center of the territory, hinting that Israel may soon launch ground operations.
The new military campaign comes as aid groups have warned that supplies are running out, two weeks after Israel cut off all supplies of food, medicine, fuel and other goods to the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.
"Israel will from now on act against Hamas with increased military force," Netanyahu's office said.
More than 400 people are said to have been killed after Israel launched deadly bombings in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and southern Syria against what it said were extremists planning terrorist attacks.
Israeli bombings threaten to ignite a new and bloody regional conflict.
Netanyahu said Monday night that he had instructed the military to take "strong action" against Hamas because the Iran-backed group refused to release the remaining hostages and rejected proposals for a new ceasefire.
"Israel, from this moment on, will act with military force against Hamas," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Citing health officials under Hamas control, several media outlets reported that the death toll across the Gaza Strip has reached at least 404 people from Israeli bombardment.
This data could not be independently confirmed.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory called the bombings "unjustified" and called for an immediate restoration of the ceasefire.
"The people of Gaza have endured indescribable suffering. An end to hostilities, sustained humanitarian assistance, the release of hostages, and the restoration of basic services and livelihoods are the only way forward," Muhannad Hadi said in his statement.
At the same time, the Israeli military said it had also carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon and southern Syria.
The Israeli military said the strikes in Gaza targeted mid-level Hamas leaders and commanders, as well as the group's infrastructure.
It declared that it is ready to continue attacks against Hamas for as long as necessary.
The White House was consulted by Israel about the recent attacks on Gaza, a White House spokeswoman told Fox News.
"As President [Donald] Trump has made clear - Hamas, the Houthis [in Yemen], Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not only Israel but the United States of America, will face consequences. All hell will break loose," said White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt.
On March 5, Trump warned Hamas that it would face "hell" if it did not immediately release all hostages, after the White House confirmed that it had held secret talks with the extremist group.
Reuters news agency quoted a senior Hamas official as saying that Israel is "unilaterally ending" the Gaza ceasefire agreement and that this puts the fate of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza at risk.
Israel and Hamas have disagreements over how to continue a three-phase ceasefire, which began on January 19, including the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Most of Hamas's leaders were killed during Israel's revenge war in Gaza, following the extremist group's bloody attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli settlements in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others. About a dozen hostages still remain in Hamas hands.
Israel responded by launching a devastating war in the Palestinian enclave, which has killed tens of thousands of people, according to local authorities, and displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.
Following the ceasefire agreement – which led to the release of a number of hostages and prisoners – the Israeli military has frequently carried out attacks against Hamas, as well as Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah is also designated a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union only designates its armed wing as a terrorist group.
Most of Hezbollah's leaders were killed during Israel's 14-month war against the group, before a US-brokered ceasefire in November.
In the new strikes, Israel said it hit two Hezbollah leaders in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor. The military said the men were "surveillance operatives."
She added that other attacks were carried out on Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon.
In Syria, Israel has taken control of a security zone in the south after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's brutal autocratic regime in December. Israel sees the move as a preventive measure against the former Islamist rebels who toppled Assad and now control Syria.
On March 17, Syrian authorities said Israeli strikes hit a residential area in the southern city of Daraa, killing three people. This report could not be verified.
Israel said the targets of the attacks were military command centers and weapons depots in southern Syria belonging to Assad's forces and posing a threat to Israel.
Assad fled Syria in December and is reported to be in Russia, which, along with Iran, was one of the main supporters of his regime. Assad took power in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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