ISRAEL RESUMES GAZA FIGHTING – Israelis Voice Concern for Fate of Hostages
Israel launched new strikes in the Gaza Strip and promised “increasing military force” after talks on further hostage releases stalled, the office of Israel’s prime minister said Monday. The resumption of Israel’s war against Hamas came after almost two months of relative calm in Gaza under a ceasefire the U.S. helped to broker, but which Israel and Hamas could not agree on how to continue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement its military is “currently attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, to achieve the war goals as determined by the political echelon, including the release of all our hostages — living and dead.”
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” the prime minister’s office said.
The statement said Israel was resuming military strikes because of Hamas’ repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
