Ceasefire Ends as Israel Strikes Multiple Hamas Gaza Positions; Trump Sternly Warns Iran over Houthis

JERUSALEM, Israel – The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is over. Early Tuesday morning, Israeli warplanes bombarded Hamas targets inside Gaza. The renewed fighting comes after Hamas refused to extend the ceasefire deal and hostage/prisoner exchange.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement early Tuesday, "At this moment the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is striking Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip to achieve the war's objectives as set by the political leadership, including the release of all our hostages – both the living and the fallen."

The prime minister said the decision – approved by the cabinet – came after Hamas repeatedly refused to release the hostages and rejected all proposals presented by President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and other mediators.

IDF International Spokesman Nadav Shoshani told CBN News, "What we have seen them do is prepare for a terror attack against our troops in Gaza but more importantly, against our civilians, in the communities outside of Gaza, in the western Negev.

Shoshani continued, "What we did is we took a preemptive strike on those, terrorists, specifically those commanders. And on terror targets, removing those threats, and basically saying, we will not accept this."  

President Trump was informed of the plan beforehand.

A White House spokesman announced, "Israel consulted with the Trump administration and the White House in advance of the attacks on Gaza. As Trump has made clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, and anyone who seeks to terrorize – not only Israel but also the United States – will pay a heavy price. The gates of hell will open." 

Israel's new IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir oversaw the operations alongside the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, who Netanyahu indicated he plans to fire.

Tuesday's attacks lit up the night sky over Gaza with dozens of explosions. Israel claims to have killed many Hamas leaders and Hamas acknowledged that hundreds of Gazans have been killed and wounded.

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The attacks dramatically change the situation following the ceasefire.     

The two sides' bottom-line demands completely contradict each other. Israel insisted the war can't permanently end until Hamas frees the hostages, disarms, and gives up on governing Gaza.

Yet, Hamas refuses to lay down its arms and give up power. The terror group says it won't release the hostages until Israel ends the war and its troops leave. 

Hamas is now threatening the hostages, writing in a statement that "Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to reverse the ceasefire agreement, and are exposing the hostages in Gaza to an unknown fate"

The hope for the hostages is that they are Hamas' only real bargaining chip. If they're all killed, there would be little to prevent the IDF from going all-out to destroy the terror group.

This comes as the U.S. continues strikes at Houthi targets in Yemen until the goal is reached of stopping Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and other nearby waters.

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, U.S. joint staff Director for operations, stated, "The operation continues and it will continue in the coming days until we achieve the president's objectives."

President Trump is now giving Iran, the Houthis main sponsor, a tough warning. 

He posted on Truth Social, "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot being fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran, and will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!"