Israel-Gaza war latest: Netanyahu calls strikes that shattered ceasefire and killed 404 ‘only the beginning’

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.