Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025.
Israel has resumed air strikes in Gaza after Hamas refused to release hostages or agree to any of the ceasefire proposals put forward by the United States.
The six-week ceasefire that was in effect when President Trump took office had formally ended on March 1, but it remained in limbo as Israel and the U.S. ratcheted up pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages and the terrorist group refused any deals that would extend the pause in fighting.
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The IDF is, at this time, attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”
The statement indicated that this was just the beginning, and that Israel “will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
Now that it has resumed its military campaign against Hamas, one thing to watch will be how Israel operates without the badgering and constraints demanded by the Biden administration.