Hundreds are killed as Israel abandons ceasefire
Early on Tuesday, Israel resumed heavy airstrikes on Gaza, ending two months of a ceasefire deal intended to end the war. So far, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed including more than 150 children, and more than 550 wounded – numbers not seen since October 2023.
So what? Gazans and Israeli hostages are at the mercy of an increasingly desperate bid for political survival by Israel’s prime minister. The timing of the renewed offensive raises important questions about its underlying motivations. This return to fighting has
- allowed Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone yet again his ongoing criminal trial on corruption charges;
- shifted attention from protests this week to oppose his planned firing of the chief of the Shin Bet security agency; and
- enticed his former national security minister and leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned in opposition to the ceasefire agreement, to rejoin the governing coalition.
Why does this matter? Ahead of a crucial vote to pass the state budget, Netanyahu’s coalition is barely holding together. Support from ultra-Orthodox parties is fading because of a law to enlist them into the military, and failure to pass a budget at the end of the month would trigger snap elections – a nightmare scenario for Netanyahu, whose poll ratings have tumbled over his failures in the lead-up to October 7.
Kingmaker. Ben-Gvir, who brings six Knesset seats with him, has made clear his price for rejoining the government is a resumption to war. He has kept his side of the deal, announcing his return hours after Tuesday’s airstrikes began.
War goals. Netanyahu’s office claims the airstrikes are directed at Hamas terror targets to achieve Israel’s war objectives, including the release of the 59 hostages who remain in captivity, both alive and dead. His office said Israel would “from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength”.
No mo. Since the ceasefire deal was signed in January, Israeli leaders have increasingly signalled their opposition to phase two of the agreement – which requires full military withdrawal from the Strip and moves towards a permanent end to the war alongside continued hostage and prisoner exchanges.
- Talks over phase two were supposed to begin on 2 February but Israel refused to start serious negotiations.
- Instead, with the backing of Donald Trump’s special envoy, Israel proposed an extension of phase one involving ongoing hostage releases without a commitment to end the war.
- Hamas refused, insisting on sticking to the original agreement.
- Citing Hamas’s rejection of the new proposal, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid and electricity to Gaza for the past two weeks. Now they’ve returned to war.
Deception. Hostage families are mobilising en masse against renewed fighting. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum has called the claim that the war is being renewed for the release of the hostages “complete deception”. Former hostages have testified they were regularly moved from building to building in captivity, making it virtually impossible for the Israeli army to know their locations and increasing the risk that the blunt instrument of renewed airstrikes would endanger their lives. One father, whose son is still held in Gaza, said Netanyahu was once again “working for the elimination and murder of the hostages... to preserve his leadership”.
Siege. For Gazans, the airstrikes exacerbate desperate conditions. Tens of thousands of civilians, displaced multiple times already, face renewed evacuation orders. Hospitals are struggling to handle an influx of new patients as the blockade on food, fuel and medical supplies continues. The closure yesterday of the Rafah crossing into Egypt has left 12,000 people in urgent need of medical treatment stranded in Gaza.
What’s next? Israel’s military operation is set to escalate, with reservists being called up and a new ground invasion likely.
What’s more… A return to war will embolden proponents of Trump’s plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza. Last week, US and Israeli officials reportedly contacted Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland and Syria to discuss resettling Gazans there.
Photo credit: Jehad Alshrafi/AP
