Why Israel shattered the ceasefire

The relative calm of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came to an abrupt end on Tuesday when Israel launched dozens of attacks on targets across the Gaza Strip Palestinian hospital officials say 413 people have been killed including women and children Israel says the operation is openended and expected to expand raising fears of the 17monthold war fully reignitingA Palestinian man carries the shrouded body of a child killed in the overnight Israeli airstrike PicsAFPWhat happened to the ceasefireThe ceasefire agreed to in midJanuary was a threephase plan the first of which actually ended two weeks ago Israel balked at entering substantive negotiations over the second phase which were meant to lead to a longterm ceasefire a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the return of all hostages taken by Hamas in its October 7 2023 attack on Israel that started the war The ceasefire was supposed to continue as long as talks over the second phase went on according to the agreement reached after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States Egypt and QatarWhat happens to hostagesIsraeliAmerican hostage Edan Alexander whom Hamas promised to release three days agoDuring the first phase Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners Israeli forces also withdrew to buffer zones inside Gaza and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to northern Gaza No further hostage releases were called for under the agreement until the second phaseDemonstrators chant slogans during an antigovernment protest calling for release of hostages on Monday PicsAFPTwo weeks ago Israel cut off all food medicine fuel electricity and other supplies to the territoryrsquos around 2 million people to pressure Hamas to accept a new proposal The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostagesmdashthe militant grouprsquos main bargaining chipmdashin exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisonersmdasha key component of the first phase Hamas refused the new proposal accusing Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreementWhat is Netanyahursquos situationBenjamin NetanyahuNetanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israelrsquos internal security agency Families of hostages still held in Gaza expressed concern Tuesday over their loved ones But Netanyahu has also faced demands from his hardline allies not to allow any deal in Gaza that falls short of Hamasrsquo destruction Negotiations with Hamas over a second phase could have brought pressure for compromises over how Gaza will be ruled in the future Netanyahursquos critics say his firing of the security agency chief and a string of other dismissals are part of a broader campaign aimed at undermining independent government institutionsWhat else is happeningHouthi supporters chant slogans during an antiUS and antiIsrael rally in Sanaa Yemen on Monday PicAFPA resumption of fighting in Gaza could have repercussions around the region Yemenrsquos Iranbacked Houthi rebels denounced the Israeli strikes saying ldquothe Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battlerdquo indicating a possible resumption of the Houthisrsquo strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden The United States launched new airstrikes over the weekend targeting the Houthis in Yemen in retaliation for its attacks on shipping At least 53 people were reported killed US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran would ldquosuffer the consequencesrdquo for any further Houthi attacks threatening to widen the conflict further New Gaza violence could also shake the ceasefire that Israel reached with Hezbollah in November which stopped months of deadly exchanges of fire over the IsraeliLebanon borderSo is the ceasefire overUnless mediators step in Israelrsquos surprise attack could mean a full return to fighting in a 17month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has repeatedly threatened to resume the war said he ordered the strikes because of Hamasrsquo rejection of the new proposal He said Israel ldquowill from now on act against Hamas with increasing military strengthrdquo The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israelrsquos actions Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire agreement and exposing the remaining hostages ldquoto an unknown faterdquo In a statement it called on mediators to hold Israel ldquofully responsible for violating and overturning the agreementrdquo The attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan No major fighting has occurred in Gaza since the ceasefire took hold on January 19 but Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had entered unauthorised areas engaged in militant activities or otherwise violated the truceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever