Israel early on Tuesday carried out a series of airstrikes on what it said were Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

A post on X from the Israeli military said it is “conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office expressed frustration that Hamas has refused to release hostages it took as part of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks on Israel. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization not only by Israel, but also the US, Germany and several other countries.

Israel and Hamas have been at war since the October 7 attacks, but had entered into a ceasefire on January 19. After finishing a first round of the ceasefire where Hamas released Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, the two sides were supposed to enter a second phase of the truce.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters news agency that Israel is unilaterally ending the ceasefire agreement, with the group accusing Israel of resuming “aggression” against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Reuters, citing medics in Gaza, reported that at least 40 people in Gaza had died from the Israeli airstrikes.

US news outlet Axios reported that Israel informed US President Donald Trump’s administration ahead of the attacks.

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East.

This blog will focus on Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza, US attacks on the Houthis in Yemen and other moving events in the region.

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