Gaza
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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) informed that an overnight strike on Gaza targeted a top Hamas command center in the enclave. Concretely, it said that the compound, located in Gaza City, was used to plan numerous attacks against the country and its troops and served the Daraj-Tuffah Battalion.

The strike is part of Israel's resumption of hostilities in Gaza, which began on Tuesday morning and have so far killed over 400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he made the decision after the first phase of the ceasefire failed to move forward to a second one, which would have negotiated the end of the war. However, Netanyahu's coalition has held off negotiations even though the first phase required they start on its 16th day.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned Gazans that the country will resume operations on the ground soon, urging them to leave evacuation zones. "Gaza residents, this is a final warning. The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza and the second Sinwar will completely destroy it," he said in reference to the brother of slain Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar, killed last year, and the fact that his brother Mohammed is believed to be playing a key role in the militant group's operations at the moment.

"The Air Force strikes against Hamas terrorists were just the first step. It will become much more difficult and you will pay the full price," Katz added, warning that unless all remaining hostages are returned the country will "operate with strength you have not yet seen." "The alternative is absolute destruction."

Citing Gaza media, The Times of Israel reported that Israeli tanks have begun advancing along the Netzarim Corridor, which splits the strip in two, and that vehicle movement northward through the enclave's main avenue, Salah al-Din road, has stopped.

The families of Israeli hostages decried the attacks on Tuesday, saying that resuming the war could be a death sentence for their loved ones. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticized the decision by the Benjamin Netanyahu government to "sacrifice the 59 captives" in Gaza (including those presumed dead) and called for urgent protests outside his office in Jerusalem.

"Military pressure will lead to the killing of living hostages and the disappearance of the fallen," the forum added. "We are horrified, furious and scared by the intentional shattering of the process of returning our loved ones from the terrible Hamas captivity." Netanyahu, in turn, said the attacks seek the "release of all our hostages." White House ational Security Council Spokesman Brian Hughes, on his end, said the blame falls on Hamas, telling Axios that the group "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war."

Originally published on Latin Times