# March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip

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On 17 March 2025, Israel launched a large-scale missile and artillery attack in the Gaza Strip, the heaviest since a previous ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which has named the offensive Operation Might and Sword (Hebrew: מבצע עוז וחרב, Oz VaHerev), stated that the strikes targeted leadership figures, mid-ranking military commanders, and operational infrastructure of Hamas, following a breakdown in hostage release negotiations.
The offensive, which included airstrikes on multiple targets in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, was described by the IDF as part of a broader strategy to weaken Hamas's governance and operational capacity. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and non-combatants, the attacks resulted with over 404 people killed, and hundreds more injured.Among the dead was Mahmoud Abu Wafah, one of the highest-ranking Hamas members in Gaza.
The Israeli government said it carried out the attack in response to Hamas's refusal to extend a ceasefire through additional hostage releases. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that military operations would continue until all Israeli hostages were freed and Hamas's military capabilities were neutralized. The attacks occurred a few weeks after United States President Donald Trump warned that "all hell" would break loose if Hamas did not release hostages. US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts alongside Egypt and Qatar, previously stated that Hamas must release living hostages immediately "or pay a severe price." US National Security Council spokesman asserted that the group "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war." Israel informed the US before initiating the operation.
Hamas condemned the strikes as a violation of the ceasefire, accusing Israel of endangering hostages held in Gaza. The escalation prompted international reactions, with the United Nations Security Council convening an emergency session to address the crisis. The regional mediators intensified diplomatic efforts to broker a renewed truce. The US reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense and attributed responsibility to Hamas for the failure to extend the ceasefire through hostage negotiations. The White House released a statement saying that Hamas and other regional entities "will see a price to pay," reiterating that "All hell will break loose."

## Background

In January 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, temporarily pausing the Gaza war. However, the Israel Defense Forces violated the ceasefire hundreds of times, carrying out strikes on the Gaza Strip that had killed over 100 people.
On 2 March, shortly after the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, Israel shut down the entry of all humanitarian aid (including food and fuel) into the Gaza Strip. A few days later, Israel shut down electricity to Gaza Strip's main desalination plant, which provided drinking water for 500,000 Palestinians.
On 17 March, a day before renewed Israeli airstrikes began, Gadi Eisenkot and several Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee opposition lawmakers claimed that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) had initiated a resurgence in their military capabilities during the ceasefire, growing their forces to 25,000 and 5,000 troops respectively. The opposition members accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of failing to either eliminate Hamas and allied groups' military capabilities or rescue the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu was scheduled on 18 March to testify in his corruption trial, but as a result of the attacks, the legal proceedings were postponed. An Israeli military report released on the same day alleged that Hamas had begun preparations for a new raid on Israel to attack communities and kibbutzim near the border, as well as Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

## Attacks

The attacks began on 18 March 2025, at approximately 2:20 a.m local time. The operations have widely been described was widely described as a "surprise attack", and occurred while Palestinians were observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Israeli warplanes began entering Gaza at 2:30 a.m., and the Israel Defense Forces announced on Telegram that it and the Israeli Security Agency were "conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip". According to the Associated Press, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after ceasefire talks appeared to stall. The strikes have targeted Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat, Al-Bureij, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Karama, and Beit Hanoun, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. Al Jazeera reported strikes in Al-Mawasi, Rafah.
An unidentified Israeli military official stated to Reuters that they would continue the attacks indefinitely, and would incorporate further military elements beyond airstrikes.
An Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza stated that heavy shelling from Israeli tanks targeted eastern sections of Abasan, Khan Yunis. The shelling reportedly killed thirteen people. One strike in Rafah reportedly killed seventeen members of a single family.

## Aftermath
### Casualties

At least 404 people have been killed, including children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry reported that more than 660 people were injured due to the attacks. Over seventy people were reported injured in central Gaza. The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said that the attacks targeted political officials and Hamas commanders. Hamas general and head of internal security services and police Mahmud Abu Watfa was reported to have been killed in Gaza City by a Hamas interior ministry official. Gazan media agencies claimed that Issam Da’alis, head of Hamas' monitoring committee for government activity, and political bureau member Abu Ubaida Al-Jamassi were killed. Director-general of Hamas' ministry of justice Ahmad Al-Khatta and high-ranking interior ministry official Bahjat Abu Sultan were also reported to have been killed.
The Gaza Strip's Government Media Office stated that most of the casualties were women, the elderly, and children; reporting that "entire families" had been killed. The office said that the attacks were tactically designed to destroy the will of the Gazan population, and urged the international community to stop the attacks and hold Israeli officials accountable.

## Reactions
### Israel

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said that Israel has "returned to fighting in Gaza". He further stated that if Hamas did not release all held captives in Palestinian territory, that Israel would open the "gates of hell" on Gaza, and would discharge forces that Hamas "have never known before". Israel indefinitely shut down the Rafah Border Crossing during the attacks.
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement on Twitter/X, claiming that Hamas persistently refused to release Israeli hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel while rejecting all proposals offered by mediators and United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
A statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the renewed attacks as the "intentional shattering" of the process of returning the fifty-nine remaining hostages, and accused Netanyahu's government of “choosing to give up the lives of the hostages”. The forum demanded a return to ceasefire conditions and urged United States President Donald Trump to negotiate for the release of all hostages.

### Palestine

Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq stated that "Netanyahu's decision to resume war" was "a decision to sacrifice the occupation's prisoners and impose a death sentence on them". A senior official of Hamas stated to Reuters that the renewed attacks represented Israel's unilateral termination of the ceasefire started in January 19. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) characterized Israel as "deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire" to restart its "war of extermination" on Gaza. The paramilitary group called Netanyahu's cabinet a "bloodthirsty Nazi government", and vowed that the cabinet will fail to achieve their objectives. Hamas official Taher Nunu described the attacks as a "moral test" for the international community, based on whether it would allow the bombardments on civilians to go on, or if it acted to stop the violence towards Palestinian civilians.

### International

* China: Ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was "highly concerned" about the attacks, calling for parties to avoid any actions "that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster".
* Russia: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of a "spiral of escalation" in the wake of the Israeli attacks.