Article

2025-03-18 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

CEASEFIRE OVER‐Israel Pounding Hamas Targets After Hostage Negotiations Fail

[RedState] Israel's ceasefire with Hamas ended early Tuesday after repeated negotiations over Hamas releasing the remaining Israeli hostages failed once again.

Fighter jets began targeting terrorist strongholds in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israel Defense Forces—and they also indicated they will increase their use of force if necessary:

The attacks mark the end of a nearly two-month-long ceasefire during which the terror group released hostages in drib drab fashion, often tormenting them and humiliating them in front of crazed mobs as they handed them over to the Red Cross. Released prisoners described the horrific conditions they lived under, from torture to starvation. Meanwhile, some like the Bibas family weren’t even alive at all—they’d been killed by the sadistic fanatics.

This is a rapidly developing situation, and RedState will you updated with the latest developments.

Courtesy of Skidmark:

IDF carries out mass strikes in Gaza 'ending ceasefire’

[Jpost] The White House confirmed it was consulted by Israel prior to the strikes.

The IDF and the Shin Bet are currently conducting extensive strikes on Hamas terror targets in Gaza, the military confirmed early Tuesday morning, aiming to achieve the war goals "as determined by the political echelon, including the release of all our hostages — living and dead."

The IDF has been instructed to act "forcefully" against Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the Prime Minister's Office announced.

"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," the PMO said.

“Tonight we returned to fighting in Gaza in light of Hamas’ refusal to release the kidnapped and threats to harm IDF soldiers and Israeli communities," Katz said in a statement.

"If Hamas does not release all the kidnapped, the gates of hell will open in Gaza, and Hamas’ murderers and rapists will meet the IDF with forces they have never known before. We will not stop fighting until all the kidnapped return home and all the war’s goals are achieved."

An Israeli official said the strikes targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, senior officials in Hamas’ political wing and Hamas’ infrastructure, according to Axios.

The White House confirmed it was consulted by Israel prior to the strikes.

“Hamas, the Houthis, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

As a result of the strikes, the Home Front Command has updated its security guidelines, and school has been canceled in the Gaza envelope.

This marks the first significant wave of attacks since the January ceasefire began and comes amid additional reports of attacks by the US and Israel across the Middle East.

ISRAELI ATTACKS WITH US BACKING
US President Donald Trump has previously stated that Israel would have the full support of the US in all attacks against Hamas.

Trump also stated that “Hell will rain down” on both Hamas and the Houthis and that Iran should be held responsible "and face dire consequences" for Houthi attacks.

More from Skidmark: The Jerusalem Post liveblog for the events of March 18th in Israel and around the world can be seen here.

Tweets courtesy of 3dc, click on each link to see the original over on Twitter, since I can’t get the embed thingy to copy:

Open Source Intel
@Osint613
Abu Obeida al-Jamasi, a senior member of Hamxs’ political bureau.

Eliminated ❌

Open Source Intel
@Osint613
Report from Gaza ❌

Still need further confirmation [Isam Dealis, Head of Hamas Politbureau]

Open Source Intel
@Osint613
Palestinian report:

The Secretary-General of the Gaza Ministry of Justice, Abu Omar Al-Hatta, was just eliminated in Gaza.

Posted by Frank G 2025-03-18 00:32|| || Front Page|| [11147 views ] Top
File under: Hamas

#1 IAF conducts extensive strikes on Hamas targets

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Information Ministry claimed that at least 250 were killed in the Israeli strikes, which reportedly hit dozens of targets.

Sources in the Gaza Strip told Kan 11 News that Mahmoud Abu Watfa, head of Hamas's internal security apparatus in Gaza, was eliminated in the Israeli strikes. It was also reported that Mohammed Abu Ubaida al-Jammasi, a member of Hamas's political bureau in the Gaza Strip, was eliminated as well.

Palestinian Arab sources reported that Issam al-Da'alis, a member of Hamas's political bureau, was also eliminated in the strikes.

Posted by Grom the Affective 2025-03-18 01:07|| 2025-03-18 01:07|| Front Page Top

#2 Hamas preparing for a raid? Defense establishment identifies unusual incident in Gaza

Posted by Grom the Affective 2025-03-18 01:09|| 2025-03-18 01:09|| Front Page Top

#3 The Times of Israel adds:

At least 232 Palestinians were killed, including children, according to unverified figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Netanyahu’s office said the decision to resume strikes shortly after midnight on Tuesday “followed Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US special envoy to the Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”

Hostage families have long argued that those aims contradict each other and that a return to fighting will endanger their loved ones. Polling over the past month has indicated that a majority of the Israeli public agrees with the hostage families and backs ending the war in exchange for the release of the hostages. But those polls have also shown that a plurality of coalition voters back resuming the war. Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners have also threatened to collapse the government if he ends the war before Hamas has been dismantled.

Israel wasn’t able to do this during the first 15-plus months of war but is emboldened by the new administration in Washington, which is less likely to criticize Jerusalem over potential civilian deaths or the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which the IDF has blocked entirely since the end of the first phase.

The IDF also has a new chief of staff in Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir who entered the post earlier this month pledging an unrelenting effort to dismantle Hamas.

Netanyahu also announced on Monday that he plans to fire Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, one of several security chiefs who regularly sparred with the premier over his handling of the war. The security establishment has argued that Israel should agree to the original terms of the ceasefire in order to secure the release of the remaining hostages before it is too late, insisting that Hamas can be dealt with at a later date.

The cabinet was initially slated to hold a vote on Bar’s dismissal on Tuesday, but that meeting had not been finalized as of Monday night and the resumption of fighting could well delay that process further.

Bar’s agency joined the IDF in conducting an extensive wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, which the army said targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure.

An Israeli military official briefing reporters said that the IDF conducted dozens of strikes using dozens of aircraft after Netanyahu signed off on the operation earlier Monday.

The strikes came after the IDF identified Hamas preparations to launch attacks on Israel along with its efforts to regroup and rearm, the Israeli military official said.

The military official said it intends to continue the airstrikes “as long as necessary,” and widen the surprise assault beyond an aerial campaign if it is ordered to.

The IDF is deployed and prepared on all fronts, including with heightened alert with its air defenses, the official added.

The plans for Tuesday’s operation had been kept secret until now for the IDF to have the element of surprise, the military official said.

Posted by trailing wife 2025-03-18 02:33|| 2025-03-18 02:33|| Front Page Top

#4 Polling over the past month has indicated that a majority of the Israeli public agrees with the hostage families

It's all in how you formulate the question.

Posted by Grom the Affective 2025-03-18 02:46|| 2025-03-18 02:46|| Front Page Top

#5 Indeed.

Posted by trailing wife 2025-03-18 03:22|| 2025-03-18 03:22|| Front Page Top

#6 First point in Political Science 1001: How you word the poll question largely determines the result of the poll.

Posted by magpie 2025-03-18 09:30|| 2025-03-18 09:30|| Front Page Top

#7 How you word the poll question largely determines the result of the poll.

Said another way, you can get whatever answer you want by carefully framing the question.

Luckily, we have impartial journalists and data mongers to help us find the truth, bless their hearts.

Posted by SteveS 2025-03-18 10:28|| 2025-03-18 10:28|| Front Page Top

#8 This should be filed under Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics.

Posted by alanc 2025-03-18 10:59|| 2025-03-18 10:59|| Front Page Top

#9 Allegory of 7 Oct? FAFO

Posted by Procopius2k 2025-03-18 12:40|| 2025-03-18 12:40|| Front Page Top

#10 Enough with the military targets. Target the Hamas negotiating team.

Posted by Regular joe 2025-03-18 15:44|| 2025-03-18 15:44|| Front Page Top

10:01 Old Patriot
10:00 NN2N1
09:58 EMS Artifact
09:55 EMS Artifact
09:48 Besoeker
09:43 magpie
09:35 Frank G
09:32 Mercutio
09:24 SteveS
09:09 Elmomoter Mussolini9149
09:03 Skidmark
08:53 Gleng Whaick2262
08:37 ed in texas
08:30 Besoeker
08:12 Procopius2k
08:10 Procopius2k
07:54 Grom the Affective
06:54 Richard Aubrey
06:49 MikeKozlowski
06:48 MikeKozlowski
06:46 Richard Aubrey
06:46 MikeKozlowski
06:44 Richard Aubrey
06:34 NN2N1