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Israel has resumed massive attacks on the Gaza Strip after a two-month hiatus. Israeli authorities hope that pressure will help return the hostages that Hamas has held in Gaza for almost a year and a half. The Palestinian movement continues to hold 24 people. At the same time, critics of Benjamin Netanyahu both in Israel and abroad are sure that the resumption of military action has one goal – to prolong the political life of the prime minister. He benefits from the full political support of the new US administration. However, it is almost impossible to simultaneously achieve the release of the hostages and the final removal of Hamas from power in the Strip.
Resumption of hostilities
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to take decisive action against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. This comes after Hamas has repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers received from US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from mediators,” said a statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office on the night of March 18.
The text notes that the goal of the operation, dubbed “Courage and Sword,” is to secure the release of Israeli hostages still held by terrorists. “From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force. The operational plan was presented by the IDF over the weekend and approved by the political leadership,” the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized.
At the time of the statement’s publication, Israeli aircraft were already striking the Gaza Strip. Within 10 minutes, 80 targets were attacked. According to Palestinian sources, the number of victims exceeded 400 people, including women and children. At the same time, Israel reported that, according to preliminary estimates, about 200 Hamas activists were liquidated in Gaza , including some of the movement’s top brass.
Among them are Issam al-Dalis, head of the Gaza Management Committee, whose functions are similar to those of the prime minister, deputy interior minister of the Hamas government in Gaza Mahmoud Abu Watfa, deputy justice minister Ahmed Omar al-Khatta and director general of the Bahjat movement’s Internal Security Service Hassan Abu Sultan. The liquidation of the official spokesman of the Islamic Jihad movement, Naji Abu Seif, was also reported.
“This is just the beginning,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in an evening address to the nation, adding that from now on, all “negotiations will only take place under fire.” He said Israel would continue to fight to achieve the war’s goals and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel, as well as to return the Israeli hostages. On Wednesday night, the Israeli Air Force again struck the Strip.
And by Wednesday evening it became known that Israel had launched a ground operation. The Netzarim corridor was again taken under control. The army press service said in a statement that this was a targeted maneuver to create a partial buffer zone between the north and south of the Gaza Strip. In addition, the number of Israeli forces in the Philadelphia corridor, which separates the strip from Egypt, was increased. Air attacks also continued.
In an address to the nation, Benjamin Netanyahu said that from now on all “negotiations will only take place under fire”
Israel claims that while the ceasefire was in effect, Hamas and Islamic Jihad were actively preparing to resume hostilities. Israeli intelligence has identified hundreds of new targets and more than 20,000 Hamas terrorists. The movement’s leaders deny any preparation for war.
Hamas, for its part, accused Israel of “renewed aggression” and held it responsible for the violation of the ceasefire agreement and all the consequences of this, including the fate of the hostages remaining in Gaza. In particular, on Tuesday, information appeared in the Arab media that one of the hostages was killed as a result of IDF strikes and several others were wounded. No one has officially confirmed this.
At the same time, Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing sources, that if even one hostage were to die, Israel would annex part of the Gaza Strip, as it is convinced that for Hamas, the loss of territory is much more terrible than the loss of life.
The Deal and Israel’s Internal Problems
The war in Gaza began after hundreds of Hamas militants infiltrated Israeli territory on October 7, 2023. Over a thousand people were killed within a day, and about 250 more were taken into the Gaza Strip. Among the dead and hostages were citizens of both Israel and other countries. Four other Israelis (two alive and two dead) had been held in Gaza since 2014–2015. Most of the hostages were released as a result of deals with Hamas in November 2023 and January–February 2025, while others were rescued by the Israeli army or found dead. Three of the abductees were accidentally killed by IDF fire while trying to escape.
At the time of the resumption of hostilities last Tuesday, there were 59 hostages in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, only 24 of them are alive: 22 Israelis, as well as citizens of Thailand and Nepal. They were supposed to be released as part of the second stage of the ceasefire deal in the Strip. In the third stage, Hamas was supposed to return all the bodies.
The three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. At the moment, only the first stage of the deal has been completed, which lasted, as agreed, 42 days – from January 19 to March 1 inclusive. During this time, 30 live hostages (25 Israelis and five Thai citizens) and eight bodies were returned to Israel from Gaza.
In exchange for its citizens, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists with blood on their hands who had been sentenced to life in prison. Israeli troops withdrew from almost all of Gaza, with the exception of the Philadelphi Corridor (which separates the strip from Egypt). In addition, humanitarian aid was increased, and sick and wounded Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for treatment.
The Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor was supposed to begin at the end of the first stage of the deal, but it did not happen. Negotiations on the second stage of the deal did not begin either – its details were never worked out. The preliminary talks were not only about the return of all living hostages to Israel, but also about the announcement of a sustainable ceasefire (cessation of military actions and combat on a regular basis).
It was clear from the start that the discussions on the second stage would be very difficult. Israel feared that Hamas might set too high a “price” for the remaining hostages – for example, the release of symbols of terror, including one of the Fatah leaders, Marwan Barghouti, the most popular politician on the Palestinian street.
But the main problem was Hamas’s obvious desire to remain in power in the Gaza Strip, if not directly, then as a “gray cardinal.” According to the plan adopted by the Arab League at Egypt’s initiative, Gaza would be governed for the first six months after the war by a committee of technocrats that would receive the approval of all Palestinian forces. Then, control would gradually be transferred to the Palestinian National Authority, which currently controls only the West Bank.
At the same time, Hamas had no intention of giving up its weapons, and its leaders had no intention of leaving Gaza. Throughout the first stage of the deal, Hamas and Islamic Jihad demonstrated in every way that power in the strip still belonged to them. The only reason they were willing to go into the shadows was to receive money from the international community for the reconstruction of Gaza, which no one would hand over to terrorist organizations.
Throughout the first phase of the deal, Hamas and Islamic Jihad demonstrated that they still had power in the Strip.
The Israeli authorities were not going to tolerate Hamas’s active role in Gaza. But none of the proposed plans were a panacea. The only thing that could solve the problem was to continue the war and effectively take over the Strip militarily.
This is essentially what Netanyahu’s fellow members of the ruling coalition demanded of him. Back in January, when the deal was about to be implemented, the leader of the far-right party “Yiddish Power” Itamar Ben-Gvir left the coalition in protest against Israel’s retreat and the release of terrorists from prison. The leader of the second far-right party “Religious Zionism”, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich remained in the coalition, but threatened to leave it if the second stage of the deal was about to be implemented. However, Ben-Gvir did not leave for good either – he reserved the option to return if the second stage did not happen. The ministerial positions from “Yiddish Power” remained vacant. As it turned out, for good reason.
On March 18, “Yiddish Power” welcomed the resumption of intense military action in Gaza. And within hours, it was announced that the party would return to the coalition, and all its ministers would return to their posts. In response, the opposition party “Yisrael Beiteinu” stated that the desire to return Itamar Ben-Gvir to the government and to guarantee the approval of the budget, which is planned for next week, was the only goal that Netanyahu had in resuming military action. However, other motives of the prime minister are also mentioned.
The resumption of active hostilities in Gaza comes at a difficult time in Israeli politics: the government’s attempts to push through some form of reform of the legal system that had divided the country even before the war, conflicts between Netanyahu and the government’s legal adviser, as well as between the prime minister and a group of security officials.
In recent months, a new defense minister and chief of staff have been appointed. On March 16, Netanyahu also announced plans to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who had previously been sidelined from negotiations with Hamas. This came amid an Shin Bet investigation into officials in the Prime Minister’s Office over allegations that they had leaked classified documents and were working for people with ties to Qatar, a state close to Hamas. In addition, the Shin Bet, in its report on the causes of the “October 7 failure,” placed the bulk of the blame on the political bloc, although it acknowledged its share of the blame.
“Netanyahu is sacrificing the lives of hostages and soldiers because he fears protests against the overthrow of the Shin Bet chief. The soldiers at the front and the hostages in Gaza are just cards in his game of survival,” said Yair Golan, chairman of another opposition party, the Democrats.
The opposition is increasingly vocal about Netanyahu’s actions being dictated by his desire to stay in power. Meanwhile, according to the latest polls , Netanyahu’s Likud party has a chance to maintain its position as the largest faction in the Knesset and to rally a coalition around itself sufficient to form a government.
At the same time, as shown by a poll conducted on behalf of Channel 13, 61% of Israelis believe that Netanyahu should resign because of the October 7 tragedy. 32% of respondents did not support this idea, and 7% refused to answer the question. At the same time, almost 46% of respondents spoke out against the resignation of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and 34% in favor (about 20% have no opinion on this issue). At the same time, according to a poll by Channel 12, 64% of respondents would like Bar to resign, since they consider him responsible for the failures of October 7, but it is a completely different matter if the resignation occurs for political reasons.
Protests against Ronen Bar’s resignation were scheduled for March 18, the day the Gaza operation began. The resumption of hostilities did not stop them. The main protests took place in Tel Aviv, and on Thursday the protesters concentrated in Jerusalem.
The demonstrators were not only protesting the resignation of the Shin Bet chief, but also against the resumption of hostilities that potentially put the lives of hostages at risk.
“The greatest fear of the families of the abductees and Israeli citizens has come true. The Israeli government has decided to abandon the abductees. We are shocked, outraged and dismayed by the deliberate disruption of the process of returning our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the Headquarters of Families of Hostages said in a statement.
Former hostages who returned to Israel in recent months have also joined the protests. “The military actions endanger the lives of the abductees and directly harm them,” said Alexander Trufanov, who was released in mid-February. “I can’t stop thinking about my friends who are still there. I’m sure they are going through hell because of the decision to return to military action.”
However, there are other opinions. “The time for victory has come. We are strengthening the IDF, the government, our heroic soldiers and all security forces. The families of the fallen support you. Destroy Hamas, return our kidnapped brothers and bring victory. All the conditions are ripe, the time has come to act, we will win,” says a statement from the HaGevura forum, which unites the families of those killed in the war in the Gaza Strip. The forum’s representatives were initially against the deal with Hamas.
Former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who had many disagreements with Netanyahu during the war on both political and military issues, also called the resumption of hostilities “the right step.” “Throughout the war, I emphasized that Hamas understands only force and that military pressure will bring about change. This is what forced Hamas to sit down at the negotiating table and agree to hostage deals, this is what led to its destruction as a military organization,” Galant said .
Did Israel have a choice?
“The Israeli strikes on Gaza are primarily aimed at breaking the impasse that has developed in the negotiations for the release of the hostages, an impasse in which Hamas enjoys a de facto extension of the ceasefire, reorganizes its forces and strengthens its governance without returning additional hostages or paying any other price,” Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem and former head of the National Security Council, wrote in a column on the Israel Hayom website on Tuesday. He served in the Shin Bet for nearly three decades and is now being touted as a possible candidate to replace Ronen Bar.
Ben-Shabbat noted that Hamas is in a more advantageous position in the negotiations, since it has many hostages in its hands, which gives it the opportunity to bargain. The expert also did not rule out that Hamas will transmit “positive signals” to the mediators about its readiness to continue discussing small deals in order to break Israel’s offensive momentum.
Hamas is in a better negotiating position because it has many hostages in its hands, which gives it the opportunity to bargain.
“We must recognize that the challenge Israel faces is not easy, but the alternative is to surrender to the dictates of Hamas and leave it as the central factor of power in Gaza,” adds Ben-Shabbat. He also emphasizes that now, after the arrival of the Trump administration, Israel is in a better position than at the beginning of the war. In addition, the balance of power in the region has changed, and Hamas itself is no longer as strong.
Ben-Shabbat believes that Hamas can show flexibility if it tightens the blockade of the Gaza Strip and increases military pressure. The question is how much support the US gives to Israel’s actions.
US support
So far, the United States has publicly approved of Israel’s actions. “The Israelis have consulted with the Trump administration and the White House about their attacks in Gaza,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox News. “As President Trump has made clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not only Israel but the United States of America, will see a price to pay. There will be hell,” she added, echoing the words of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly promised to give Hamas “hell” if the hostage-release process does not move forward.
Over the past few weeks, Egypt and the United States have floated various ideas to preserve the deal. When it became clear that there would be no talks on a second phase of the deal, an option to extend the first phase emerged. In particular, the US presidential envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, proposed releasing all the hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, that is, until approximately April 20. Half of the hostages were to be released on the first day of the deal’s implementation, and the other half on the last day. Hamas refused, demanding a transition to the second phase of the deal as agreed upon in January.
Israel took advantage of Hamas’s stubbornness and on March 2 announced a suspension of humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza and the closure of all checkpoints. However, mediators continued to seek compromises. The United States decided for the first time to engage in direct dialogue with Hamas, including to achieve the return of five hostages who, in addition to Israeli citizenship, also have American citizenship. Of these, only one is alive – soldier Idan Alexander.
The US negotiated without notifying Israel. However, information about this leaked to the media. According to sources of Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, who specializes in the work of the intelligence services, Netanyahu and his Minister of Strategic Planning Ron Dermer did everything possible to disrupt direct contacts between Washington and Hamas. However, Bergman’s sources admit that Hamas also missed its chance to establish a dialogue with the Americans by haggling over trivialities. As a result, the US was very unhappy.
“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not,” Steve Witkoff said of the ceasefire talks. In an interview with CBS, he also noted the terrorist group’s intransigence on the future of the Gaza Strip. Here, the United States is united with Israel that Hamas should lay down its arms and play no role in administrative matters.
Some Arab countries, most notably the UAE and Saudi Arabia, share the same position. “And yet, Hamas came up with its own construct, essentially disavowing what we discussed. In my view, it was a pretty bad ending, and I hope they reconsider,” Witkoff said.
The latest American offer involved releasing some of the hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire until Passover, with the US promising to work toward a long-term solution to the Gaza conflict. However, Hamas agreed to return only the Americans, adding several other conditions that the US and Israel did not find acceptable.
According to Israeli sources, Israel received an update from mediators and the negotiating team hours before the overnight attack that Hamas was refusing to budge. “The person who is actually leading Hamas, Mohammad Sinwar, is making it difficult to reach an agreement,” the source told i24NEWS .
As noted by Israeli media , the current IDF attack has three main goals. The first is to create military pressure that will allow the deadlock in hostage negotiations to be broken. The second is to make it clear that Israel does not differentiate between the military and political leadership of Hamas and will not allow it to rebuild the Gaza Strip using funds obtained from looting humanitarian aid. The operation also serves as a signal to the mediators, and especially Egypt, that Israel is against Hamas remaining in the Gaza Strip in any capacity after the war.
Finally, the third goal is to, in coordination with the United States, exert strong military pressure on all remaining elements of the so-called “Shiite axis of resistance,” that is, the Houthi movement “Ansar Allah” in Yemen and Iran.
The joint US-Israeli effort is thus aimed at simultaneously freeing the hostages, driving Hamas out of Gaza, punishing the Houthis who continue to block shipping in the Red Sea, and pressuring Iran to come to the negotiating table for a new deal to curb its nuclear program.
The joint US-Israeli effort aims to free the hostages, drive Hamas out of Gaza, punish the Houthis and pressure Iran
In fact, Israel simply synchronized its actions with the United States. The Israeli operation began three days after Donald Trump declared war on the Houthis. Let us recall that the Ansar Allah movement supported Hamas back in 2023: it began attacking ships in the Red Sea and tried to reach Israeli territory with drones and missiles. This was occasionally successful. In early 2024, the United States and Great Britain launched a military operation against the Houthis, but were unable to stop them. Ansar Allah itself stopped the attacks as soon as there was a lull in Gaza.
However, after Israel announced a blockade of the strip in March, the Houthis threatened to resume hostilities. The US decided to intimidate them first, including by threatening to follow the example of Hamas: this will happen to anyone who contradicts us. Hamas did not become more flexible, and the Houthis immediately after the Israeli strikes on Gaza launched rockets towards Israel for the first time in two months.
The war of nerves continues. Israel is increasing military pressure, but at the same time, it does not rule out the option of returning to the negotiating table.
Reaching a new ceasefire agreement is not ruled out. At least, this is what the mediators are already working on. As the Qatari publication Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed has learned , Egypt presented a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday. It includes reopening the Rafah crossing for the exit of the wounded from the strip and the entry of humanitarian aid in exchange for the release of wounded Israeli hostages and the bodies of the dead. Specific figures are expected to be discussed after both sides agree in principle to negotiate. Hamas sources said on Thursday that the movement is ready to accept any proposal that includes the release of hostages, provided that this is part of the transition to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
But all this does not solve the main problems: Israel needs to return the hostages and put an end to Hamas rule in Gaza. These are, as most experts are convinced, incompatible tasks. And even more so, Israel’s goals are incompatible with the intentions of Hamas, which does not intend to leave Gaza. In addition, the movement’s leaders understand that immediately after the return of the hostages, Israel will strike Hamas again, so it is unlikely that all the hostages will be returned.
There doesn’t seem to be any way out of this impasse, but everything in the Middle East can change overnight – both the balance of power in the region (and the world), and the internal situation in Gaza and Israel. This means that the rules of the game can change – as has already happened after Donald Trump returned to the White House, untying Israel’s hands. However, he can change his mind at any moment.
