Gaza's civil defense agency said a series of Israeli air strikes on Tuesday, March 18, killed at least 34 people, including five children, with dozens of wounded transported to a hospital.
"The death toll has reached over 20 martyrs and about 70 wounded as a result of a series of Israeli raids on areas of the Gaza Strip," agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP.
Israel launched new strikes against Hamas and promised 'increasing military force' after talks on further hostage releases stalled.
Early Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said it instructed the army to strike Hamas across Gaza.
The statement said it was because of Hamas’ repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
The strikes come after nearly two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month long war where dozens of hostages were released for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
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