Hamas claims attacks ‘violate’ ceasefire as families of Israeli prisoners charge Netanyahu with ‘abandoning hostages’.
The assault on Tuesday, the most severe since the ceasefire began on January 19, has claimed at least 326 lives according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Global reactions to the lethal strikes are as follows:
Hamas
Hamas, controlling Gaza, views Israel’s strikes as ending the January 19th ceasefire unilaterally.
“Netanyahu and his extremist government are choosing to revoke the ceasefire agreement, leaving prisoners in Gaza’s unknown fate,” Hamas stated.
Later, Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq stated, “Netanyahu’s decision to restart the conflict is to sacrifice the held prisoners and condemn them to death.”
Israel
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the operation is open-ended and anticipates further actions.
“From this point forward, Israel will respond to Hamas with increased military force,” they declared, citing Hamas’s refusal to release hostages and their rejection of proposals from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
Defense Minister Israel Katz added, “We will not cease fighting until our hostages return home and our war objectives are fulfilled.”
The United States
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “The Trump administration and the White House were informed by Israel about the strikes.”
“As President Trump has emphasized, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, and all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States will face consequences—all hell will break loose,” she stated.
Families of Israeli Captives
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing families of captives held in Gaza, criticized the Israeli government’s decision to attack as choosing “to abandon the hostages.”
“We are shocked, enraged, and frightened by the intentional dismantling of the process to bring our loved ones back from Hamas’s horrifying captivity,” the group commented, questioning why the government “withdrew from the ceasefire agreement” with Hamas.
Yemen’s Houthi Group
Yemen’s Houthi rebels pledged to increase support for Palestinians amid escalating tensions with the US.
“We condemn the Zionist enemy’s renewed aggression against the Gaza Strip,” the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council declared, “The Palestinian people won’t be isolated in this battle; Yemen will continue its support and increase its confrontational measures.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group accused Israel of “deliberately thwarting all efforts to achieve a ceasefire.”
China
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning expressed “high concern” about the situation, urging all parties “to avoid actions that could escalate the situation and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian crisis.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
CAIR, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington D.C., condemned the Netanyahu government “for resuming its horrific and genocidal attacks on Gaza’s men, women, and children, killing hundreds in hours.”
“Netanyahu clearly prefers to massacre Palestinian children in refugee camps rather than risk his cabinet’s disintegration by exchanging all those held by both sides and permanently ending the genocidal war, as required by the ceasefire agreement that President Trump helped broker and must now salvage,” CAIR stated.
