More than 400 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes launched across the Gaza Strip in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 18th (local time), as the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, canceled the ceasefire deal that was struck with Hamas back in January – a deal by which Hamas was still abiding.
The renewed Israeli strikes on Gaza come after ISRAEL, NOT HAMAS, decided to cancel the ceasefire that both sides had recently agreed to. Under the agreement, Hamas was to release groups of Israeli prisoners in different phases, a process that had already begun, and Israel was to simultaneously withdraw from Gaza.
However, the Netanyahu government suddenly decided to cancel its plans to withdraw and demand the immediate release of all Israelis from Hamas custody.
When Hamas refused the new terms, Netanyahu declared the ceasefire null and void and began ordering new strikes.
According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the Palestinians should prepare for “the gates of hell” to open in Gaza, and the world should expect to witness a show of military force “never seen before.”
After the initial Israeli strikes were complete, Katz visited an Israeli military base where he made additional remarks, telling troops and the media that “the rules of the game have changed” and that Israel “will not stop fighting” until all Israeli prisoners are returned and all “threats” are “removed.”
While Israel’s Gaza strikes and ceasefire cancelation have been ripped by European leaders, Israel’s actions have been lauded within America’s government and media and reports have even emerged, citing statements from Israeli officials, revealing that President Trump himself gave Israel the “green light” to attack.
Perhaps most critical of the latest Israeli military action in Gaza has been the family members of current and former Israeli prisoners of Hamas, some of whom spoke to politicians and reporters in the Israeli Knesset building after the ceasefire was broken.
Currently, 59 Israelis captured on October 7th, 2023 are said to remain in the custody of Hamas – though it is unclear how many of them are alive, or how many of them will remain alive in the coming days, as renewed Israeli airstrikes and food blockades threaten the lives of these Israeli citizens right alongside the lives of their Palestinian counterparts.
“Our government is despicable to me, it simply decided to abandon our hostages today, both the living and the dead, by actually entering into a comprehensive war in Gaza,” said Michel Illouz, the father of Guy Illouz, an Israeli hostage whose death was announced on December 1st of last year. “The Israeli government today, in its decision, decided to murder our children,” Michael Illouz added.
Dani Elgarat, the brother of another late hostage named Itzik Elgarat, also spoke to the media and accused the Netanyahu government of activating “a self-destruct mechanism on the kidnapped people,” whom Dani says will die alongside members of Hamas when Israel’s military levels Gaza.
Dani Elgarat has been quoted in the media several times amid ceasefire negotiations and has been staunchly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking members of his government, including just over two weeks ago when he spoke at his brother’s funeral, alongside his other siblings.
According to a report in The Times of Israel:
Thousands of Israelis headed on Monday to Nir Oz near the Gaza border for the funeral of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat, whose siblings railed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government and accused them of abandoning their brother to his death in Gaza…
…His brother Dani Elgarat has been one of Netanyahu’s harshest critics in anti-government, pro-hostage deal protests throughout the war.
At the funeral, Dani Elgarat addressed Itzik: “Today you’re being laid to eternal rest in a grave dug for you by the prime minister himself…”
…“Netanyahu defeated us and you didn’t return from captivity. The enemy who caused your death was not the one who abducted you, but the one who abandoned you.”
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