Middle East Eye published a story on the resumption of atrocities by the IDF on Gaza. Below is an AI summary of their coverage.1
On March 18, 2025, Israel unilaterally ended its ceasefire with Hamas and launched a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 404 Palestinians, including more than 130 children. The attacks began around 3am local time during Ramadan, striking all five Gaza municipalities.
The Palestinian health ministry reported 562 people were wounded in addition to the deaths. Survivors described direct strikes on civilian areas without warning, with multiple families losing several members. Yosri al-Ghar lost his pregnant sister, her husband, and three of their children in one strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he instructed the military to take “strong action” against Hamas, claiming the group refused to release captives and rejected ceasefire proposals. The Trump administration confirmed it was consulted before the strikes.
The attacks marked the end of a fragile ceasefire that began on January 19, 2025. The first phase of the agreement had resulted in the exchange of 33 Israeli and five Thai captives for 1,700 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations for the second phase, which would have involved further prisoner exchanges and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, never materialized as Israel didn’t send a delegation to the talks.
Hamas condemned the renewed attacks as a “genocidal war against defenceless civilians” and called on international organizations to intervene. The group emphasized that Netanyahu’s government should be held responsible for violating the ceasefire agreement.
Prior to this major assault, Israel had already breached the ceasefire multiple times, killing over 155 Palestinians, restricting aid deliveries, and blocking the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.
Read the full story at Middle East Eye, and keep up with their live coverage here.
A wounded Palestinian infant being treated at the overcrowded emergency ward of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 11, 2023. Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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