by Mick the Ram

The Hamas-run health ministry are reporting that more than 400 Palestinians have been killed with a further 600-plus injured.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed it had attacked what it called “terror targets” belonging to Hamas, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, gave the order.

It follows Hamas’ repeated refusal to release the remaining 59 hostages – 24 of which are still believed to be alive – and their rejection of all of the proposals put forward by US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and the mediators.

The attack was received with shock and anger by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum who called it a “deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones”.

Their emotions were not helped by remarks by Hamas who said Israel had exposed the remaining hostages to “an unknown fate”.

Mahmoud Abu Wafah, Deputy Interior Minister in Gaza and the territory’s highest-ranking Hamas security official, is known to be amongst the dead, along with four other senior officials.

It is understood that US President Donald Trump’s administration was consulted by Israel prior to carrying out the strikes.

Ramadan interrupted

The attacks by the Israelis hit targets in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis in the early hours of Tuesday 18 March.

It is believed that many people were having their pre-dawn meal as part of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when a fury of explosions pounded their locations, violently interrupted their temporary peace.

Orders for evacuation… again

Israel has since issued evacuation orders for parts of northern and central Gaza, indicating that a further attack of some description involving ground troops, is probably imminent.

Thousands of Palestinians on the Strip, who have only recently returned to their homes that in the majority of cases have been turned to rubble, are having to prepare to move out again.

Hospitals unable to cope

Mohammed Zaquot, director general of the Gaza Strip’s hospitals, reported that the health system was struggling to cope with the number of injured, which the Hamas-run health ministry put at more than 660.

Two-thirds of the hospitals in the region are already out of service. He said: “The attacks were so sudden that the number of medical staff available was inadequate for the scale of these large strikes, and additional teams were called in immediately to assist,” but the numbers are completely unmanageable.

Call for ceasefire unlikely to be heard

The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, remarked that the situation was “unconscionable”.

He called on the ceasefire to be reinstated immediately, highlighting that the people in Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering already, and he went on to describe “a nightmarish situation, with fires and bodies everywhere, and wounded people desperate for treatment.”

Military activity to intensify

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, warned Hamas to release all the hostages, stating: “we will show no mercy on our enemies”.

This was followed by a message from Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oren Marmorstein, who added: “From this point forward, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military intensity,” a comment which echoed an earlier statement from the PM’s office.

US blamed 

Hamas for their part laid the blame for the latest turn in events firmly at Donald Trump’s door. “The United States bears full responsibility for the massacres” was their immediate response, after it emerged that Israel had indeed briefed the US administration about the strikes before launch.

In a statement they pointed the finger saying: “This exposes the falsity of its claims about caring for de-escalation” and called the attacks “crimes against humanity”.

They confirmed that five of its government officials were killed in the Israeli air strikes, these being: Mahmoud Abu Watfa, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Interior; Issam al-Dalis, Head of Government Work Follow-up; Ahmed al-Hatta, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Justice; Bahjat Abu Sultan, Director General of the Internal Security Service; and Yasser Harb, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, along with his family.

Attack almost inevitable

The group have not yet declared whether it is intending to resume the war, and for now are calling on mediators and the United Nations to intervene, although negotiators have been trying to find a way forward after the first phase of the temporary truce ended on 1 March, without any success.

Two days ago, talks in Doha which lasted for 72 hours and involved high level officials from Egypt, Qatar and the US failed to extend the first stage of the ceasefire, or move into the second phase.

Second phase a non-starter

The new offensive comes 16 days after the first of three phases of a ceasefire that was agreed in January, ended.

The three phases were supposed to lead to a definitive end to the war, a total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas since its 7 October 2023 surprise attack, which triggered the conflict.

Hostage families left desperate

Families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza were understandably dismayed at the latest development, stating: “The greatest fear of the families, the kidnapped, and the citizens of Israel has come true.”

They have accused the Israeli government of “choosing to give up the hostages.” They have called on President Trump, who has consistently pledged to end the war, to “continue to act as he has declared”.

Israelis strengthened after break in fighting

Regardless of their pleas, after the break in fighting, Israel are now known to have significantly replenished ammunition stocks and identified new targets among Hamas’ leaders.

They have also taken the opportunity the break has allowed them, to repair planes and other vital equipment, as well as giving their troops much needed rest.

Next to nothing left

When Hamas savagely killed around 1,200 people and took 251 individuals hostage in their surprise assault, they probably should have known the Israeli military response would be swift and brutal. It has seen an offensive that has cost upward of 48,000 people – most of them Gaza civilians – their lives.

Additionally, the vast majority of the territory’s population, which is in excess of 2 million, has been displaced; the water, healthcare and sanitation systems have collapsed; and there is a total lack of shelter, food, medicine and fuel available. Essentially, it is hell on earth.