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Israel Renews Heavy Strikes Against Hamas in Gaza
Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
JNS.org – The Israeli military conducted “extensive” strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced early on Tuesday morning.
“This follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” the Israeli prime minister’s office stated.
The IDF is “attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the statement continued. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Jerusalem had consulted the Trump administration before launching the operation, which the Israeli military named “Strength and Sword.”
US President Donald Trump “has made it clear: Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” Leavitt said.
All of “the terrorists in the Middle East” should take Trump “very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people … and our friend and our ally Israel,” she added.
Al Jazeera and other Arab media reported that Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a deputy minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, was among several senior Hamas figures killed in the strikes.
Egyptian television station Sada El-Balad reported that Abu Obeida al-Jamasi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau and head of its emergency committee, was also killed.
Several outlets, including Saudi news channel Al Hadath, reported the death of Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of central operations in the Gaza Interior Ministry.
IDF Spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee issued an urgent warning Tuesday to residents of Gaza, urging those in specific areas to evacuate immediately as Israeli forces intensified their operations.
In a statement posted on X, Adraee identified Beit Hanoun, Khirbet Khaza’a, and Abasan al-Kabira and al-Jadida as dangerous combat zones. He called on civilians to relocate to designated shelters in western Gaza City and Khan Yunis for their safety, stressing that remaining in these areas would put their lives at risk.
Meanwhile, the IDF Home Front Command has instructed municipalities near the Gaza border to close schools until further notice.
“Following a situation assessment, it was decided that the Gaza envelope will move from a full activity level to a reduced activity level, which does not allow for educational activities,” according to the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level security assessment on Tuesday at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The meeting included Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and senior security officials.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stated on Monday night in New York that the U.N. Security Council would convene on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza.
“It is time for the countries of the world to take seriously our unwavering commitment to bring back all our hostages home and defeat the enemy,” the Israeli envoy stated. “Nothing will stop us from fighting to free our hostages, who have been held in brutal Hamas captivity for 527 days. We will show no mercy against our enemies while our hostages languish in Hamas terror tunnels.”
An Israeli official “claimed that in recent days during the ceasefire Hamas has been preparing to carry out new attacks against Israel and has taken steps to rearm,” Axios reported. “The official said the IDF kept the operational plan top secret and within a relatively small circle in order to surprise Hamas.”
The post Israel Renews Heavy Strikes Against Hamas in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.