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Also.... https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s...ceasefire-as-it-strikes-gaza-killing-hundreds
Mediators were holding ceasefire talks with Hamas in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday when the surprise Israeli strikes began
At 2:10 a.m., Israel launched about ten minutes of strikes from naval ships and dozens of warplanes after weeks of preparations for an offensive that was kept inside closed circles in the Israeli military. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what was happening behind the scenes.
What followed was one of the deadliest days of the Gaza war, with more than 400 people killed in nighttime airstrikes on homes, according to Gaza health officials, including five Hamas officials and women and children.
Israelis were surprised by the return to war, too. More than half of the living Israeli hostages freed under the latest ceasefire deal — 14 out of 25 living Israelis freed in the last several months — said the move endangered the lives of the 24 other hostages still held in Gaza and believed to be alive.
Hamas has not yet fired back at Israel, nor has it budged from its position.
Why did Israel break the ceasefire?
Leading Israeli defense analysts and former officials have made an admission: Israel violated the ceasefire deal that began on Jan. 19, the last full day of the Biden administration.
"There's no other way to explain it: Israel knowingly violated the cease-fire agreement with Hamas – with American approval – because it didn't want to fully meet the terms it had committed to two months ago," wrote Amos Harel, a defense affairs columnist for the Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
According to the Israel-Hamas agreement, on the 16th day of the ceasefire, the sides were supposed to enter talks regarding the permanent end of the war. Israel refused to hold those talks, as agreed, so long as Hamas remained in control in Gaza.
The new offensive in Gaza also allowed Netanyahu to distract from an unprecedented move: his announcement this week that he wishes to fire his domestic security chief from the Shin Bet agency, a move that sparked street protests, with more underway on Wednesday.
Netanyahu's move to fire him is part of a campaign to blame Israel's security services for failing to thwart the Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, and deflect from accusations that Netanyahu himself shoulders responsibility. It comes on the heels of a Shin Bet investigation into Netanyahu's aides over allegations they secretly provided consulting services to Qatar during the war.
"Netanyahu's true objective appears increasingly clear: a gradual slide toward an authoritarian-style regime, whose survival he will try to secure through perpetual war on multiple fronts," wrote Harel.
The renewal of war in Gaza, coupled with conflict involving the Houthis, could lead to further escalation including Iran.
The U.S. struck Houthi targets in Yemen last weekend, and U.S. fighter jets thwarted a Houthi retaliation on a U.S. warship. President Trump warned Iran, a backer of the Houthis, of "dire consequences" if Houthi attacks do not stop.
"The possibility of an Israeli or American attack on Iran is going up due to this declaration," Yadlin said.
Israel has made no secret of its interest in lobbying President Trump to support a strike against Iran's nuclear program.
Mediators were holding ceasefire talks with Hamas in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday when the surprise Israeli strikes began
At 2:10 a.m., Israel launched about ten minutes of strikes from naval ships and dozens of warplanes after weeks of preparations for an offensive that was kept inside closed circles in the Israeli military. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what was happening behind the scenes.
What followed was one of the deadliest days of the Gaza war, with more than 400 people killed in nighttime airstrikes on homes, according to Gaza health officials, including five Hamas officials and women and children.
Israelis were surprised by the return to war, too. More than half of the living Israeli hostages freed under the latest ceasefire deal — 14 out of 25 living Israelis freed in the last several months — said the move endangered the lives of the 24 other hostages still held in Gaza and believed to be alive.
Hamas has not yet fired back at Israel, nor has it budged from its position.
Why did Israel break the ceasefire?
Leading Israeli defense analysts and former officials have made an admission: Israel violated the ceasefire deal that began on Jan. 19, the last full day of the Biden administration.
"There's no other way to explain it: Israel knowingly violated the cease-fire agreement with Hamas – with American approval – because it didn't want to fully meet the terms it had committed to two months ago," wrote Amos Harel, a defense affairs columnist for the Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
According to the Israel-Hamas agreement, on the 16th day of the ceasefire, the sides were supposed to enter talks regarding the permanent end of the war. Israel refused to hold those talks, as agreed, so long as Hamas remained in control in Gaza.
The new offensive in Gaza also allowed Netanyahu to distract from an unprecedented move: his announcement this week that he wishes to fire his domestic security chief from the Shin Bet agency, a move that sparked street protests, with more underway on Wednesday.
Netanyahu's move to fire him is part of a campaign to blame Israel's security services for failing to thwart the Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, and deflect from accusations that Netanyahu himself shoulders responsibility. It comes on the heels of a Shin Bet investigation into Netanyahu's aides over allegations they secretly provided consulting services to Qatar during the war.
"Netanyahu's true objective appears increasingly clear: a gradual slide toward an authoritarian-style regime, whose survival he will try to secure through perpetual war on multiple fronts," wrote Harel.
The renewal of war in Gaza, coupled with conflict involving the Houthis, could lead to further escalation including Iran.
The U.S. struck Houthi targets in Yemen last weekend, and U.S. fighter jets thwarted a Houthi retaliation on a U.S. warship. President Trump warned Iran, a backer of the Houthis, of "dire consequences" if Houthi attacks do not stop.
"The possibility of an Israeli or American attack on Iran is going up due to this declaration," Yadlin said.
Israel has made no secret of its interest in lobbying President Trump to support a strike against Iran's nuclear program.
