Israel resumes Gaza strikes, killing senior Hamas commanders

Additionally, according to Hamas, the strikes killed Issam Da’alis, a member of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza and head of the governmental activity monitoring committee, a position roughly akin to Hamas’s prime minister.

However, reports about the death of Da’alis have circulated since July 2024 and there has never been an official confirmation of his death.

Another senior official killed was Bahjat Abu Sultan, a high-ranking official in Hamas’s interior ministry, the ministry responsible for security forces outside of its military wing.

Ahmad Al-Khatta, the director-general of Hamas’s justice ministry in Gaza, was also killed.

Abu Ubaida Al-Jamassi, also a member of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza and, according to some sources, the head of Hamas’s emergency committee — which has managed Gaza during the war — was also killed overnight, reports say.

US President Donald Trump gave Israel a “green light” to renew military operations against Hamas in Gaza, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Trump made the decision after Hamas refused to release more hostages, says the official. Israel let the US know that it was resuming strikes on Gaza before carrying them out, adds the official, echoing other reports that have said the same.

Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase at the beginning of the month.

That phase envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages.

While Israel signed on to the deal, Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel will not end the war until Hamas’s governing and military capabilities have been destroyed.

Israel refused to hold talks regarding the terms of phase two, which were supposed to begin on February 3.

Nonetheless, the ceasefire remained in place for roughly two and a half weeks after the conclusion of the first phase, as mediators worked to broker new terms for the truce’s extension.

Accepting Israel’s aversion to phase two, Witkoff presented a bridge proposal last week that would have seen phase one extended for several weeks during which five living hostages would be released.

The US envoy said Sunday that Hamas’s response to the offer was a “non-starter” and warned of impending consequences if the terror group did not change its approach.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Israel had consulted with the Trump administration before conducting the strikes.

“As President Trump has made it clear: Hamas, the Houthis, Iran — all those who seek to terrorise, not just Israel, but the United States of America — will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” she said.

“Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes separately told The Times of Israel.

Hamas issued a statement early Tuesday saying Netanyahu’s government’s decision to “overturn the ceasefire agreement” exposes the hostages “to an unknown fate.”

In its statement announcing the overnight strikes, Netanyahu’s office said Israel will “act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” adding that the operation is designed to achieve Israel’s war aims — the dismantling of the terror group’s military and governing capabilities and the return of all remaining 59 hostages.

Several hours after the start of the bombing campaign, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to Palestinians residing on the edges of the Gaza Strip, possibly indicating an intention to expand the offensive.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, published a map of “dangerous combat zones” that Gazans should leave. They included the towns of Beit Hanoun and Khuza’a, and the Abasan suburbs of Khan Younis.

“The IDF has launched a strong offensive against terror organisations. These designated areas are considered dangerous combat zones,” he said. “For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to known shelters in western Gaza City and in Khan Younis.”

He warned that remaining in the areas marked on the map in red “puts your lives and the lives of your family members in danger.”