Israel Has Shattered the Ceasefire in Gaza. Here’s What You Need to Know. Introduction. We’ll get into the broader circumstances of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in a moment, but for now, suffice it to say that ever since Israel and Hamas completed their long sequence of hostage and prisoner swaps, the ceasefire arrangement has continued on borrowed time.
Key Developments
In the early-morning hours of March the eighteenth, the fragile truce in Gaza came to a violent end. In a wave of airstrikes reminiscent of the early days of Israel’s shock offensive in late 2023, IDF warplanes laid waste to targets all across the Gaza Strip. At last count, as of the time of writing, more than four hundred people have been recorded dead, with more bodies almost certainly trapped under rubble, and minimally equipped hospitals overwhelmed with the injured.
The proportion of civilian casualties, is not yet known. The ceasefire that might have put an end to the Israel-Hamas War, ended up lasting just a day shy of two months. Now, as smoke rises over Gaza once again, it appears that the notion of peace is just as far away as it’s ever been.
Key Takeaways
- In the early hours of March 18, Israel launched Operation Might and Sword, ending a ceasefire that had lasted just under two months with a wave of airstrikes across the entire Gaza Strip.
- The IDF struck at least 35 separate target areas from Gaza City in the north to Rafah in the south, killing more than 400 people at the time of reporting, with hospitals overwhelmed and bodies still trapped under rubble.
- Israel justified the strikes as a pre-emptive action against imminent Hamas attacks, with targets including terrorist cells, weapons stockpiles, and senior Hamas officials including the acting head of the Gaza government.
- Palestinian health officials reported that the majority of casualties received by hospitals were women, children, and the elderly rather than fighters, with seventeen members of a single family killed at one location.
- Israel simultaneously issued new evacuation orders pushing Gazan residents away from the territory’s borders and toward the center and the sea, compounding a humanitarian crisis already worsened by a complete aid cutoff.
Parallel to its air campaign, Israel has announced new evacuation orders in Gaza, pertaining to basically the outer rim of the territory: a couple of kilometers from the northern border, a kilometer or so from the southern, and three to five kilometers at various points across the long southeastern border with Israel, pushing Gazan residents toward the territory’s center, and toward the sea. So, that’s the situation in Gaza as of now: a full return to Israel’s air campaign, a devastating wave of strikes, and an immense death toll that will almost certainly have risen further by the time you see this episode.
Strategic Implications
For better or for worse—and, let’s be clear, almost certainly for worse—the Israel-Hamas War is back on. Here’s what you need to know, at a moment when all roads seem as if they lead to ruin. The Strikes.
The attack was dubbed Operation Might and Sword, and when it kicked off at approximately 2:20 in the morning, local time, the Israel Defense Forces or IDF set their crosshairs on a population that was already on the brink. Many people were already awake by the time the bombs began to fall, preparing suhoor, the early-morning meal consumed before sunrise during the ongoing Ramadan fast. Choked by a complete cutoff of humanitarian aid, and forced to ration what little remained, the coming weeks had already seemed as if they’d be exceptionally difficult for Gaza’s civilian population.
Again, Hamas does not appear to have attempted any retaliation at this time, but it’s worth repeating that the retaliation that would both be most meaningful to the people of Israel, and easiest for Hamas to achieve, would be to go to the remaining hostages, in dark tunnels and cells where they’re already under Hamas’ complete control, and end their lives. Certainly, it’s worth noting that for Hamas, there’s real benefit in sitting back and letting the international community condemn Israel as it’s been doing—with those condemnations possibly growing even sharper, when Hamas does nothing in return.
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Risk and Uncertainty
In fact, it was widely expected, across much of the territory, that the ceasefire with Israel was already doomed to failure—and that the violence would begin again in earnest very soon. But in a war already defined by frequent and intense attacks from the air, Israel’s surprise raid still managed to stun and horrify the world. According to information available at the time of writing—at sundown on Tuesday the eighteenth, local time in Gaza—the Israeli military hit at least thirty-five separate target areas via airstrikes.
Those targets spanned all up and down the Gaza Strip, from Gaza City in the north to Rafah in the south, and many were pounded continuously, with witnesses on the ground reporting explosions for every few seconds, lasting for hours at a time, in multiple locations. According to the IDF, the targets consisted of locations where mid-level Hamas commanders and Gazan high-level officials were located, as well as Hamas infrastructure. Said the IDF about its target list, in a joint statement with Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, quote: “The targets struck over the past few hours include terrorist cells, launch posts, weapons stockpiles, and additional military infrastructure used by these terror organizations to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.”
During the strikes, Israeli officials also indicated that Hamas attacks had been judged to be imminent, and that the Israeli attack was thus a pre-emptive action to stop any attacks from taking place.
Outlook
On the ground, however, reports flooding out of Gaza indicate practically unanimously that the strikes destroyed far more than just Hamas infrastructure. According to Palestinian civil authorities—who do, to be clear, operate under Hamas leadership, but whose accounts generally go on to be verified by third parties—numerous strikes were reported in refugee camps or neighborhoods that were already heavily damaged, offering little protection and a whole added element of danger from easier building collapses, for those forced to try and live in the rubble. Several residential buildings have been reported as destroyed so far, and unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it.
According to health officials on the ground, only a relatively small proportion of the dead and wounded that they’ve received or processed so far, were men of fighting age. The majority—and by a considerable margin—were women, children, and the elderly. The European Hospital, a frequent destination for foreign doctors to do humanitarian relief work, reported seventeen members of a single family killed in the strike, including eight children.
Among the deceased is one Essam Addalees, the acting head of the Hamas government across all of Gaza; Ahmed al-Hetta, Gaza’s Deputy Minister of Justice, and Mahmoud Abu Wafta, the head of Hamas-led security services within the Gaza Strip.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was Operation Might and Sword and when did it begin?
Operation Might and Sword was the name Israel gave to its large-scale airstrike campaign that ended the Gaza ceasefire. It began at approximately 2:20 in the morning local time on March 18, with IDF warplanes striking targets across the entire Gaza Strip from Gaza City in the north to Rafah in the south. The IDF said the operation targeted terrorist cells, weapons stockpiles, and Hamas infrastructure, and stated the strikes were pre-emptive action against attacks it judged to be imminent.
How long did the ceasefire last before Israel broke it?
The ceasefire lasted just a day short of two months. The article notes that ever since Israel and Hamas completed their sequence of hostage and prisoner swaps, the ceasefire had continued on borrowed time, and it was widely expected across much of the territory that the truce was already doomed to failure and that violence would resume soon.
What were the reported civilian casualties from the opening strikes?
At the time of reporting, more than 400 people had been recorded dead, with more bodies almost certainly trapped under rubble and minimally equipped hospitals overwhelmed with the injured. Palestinian health officials reported that the majority of those received at hospitals were women, children, and the elderly. The European Hospital alone reported seventeen members of a single family killed, including eight children.
Who were the senior Hamas officials killed in the strikes?
Among those killed were Essam Addalees, the acting head of the Hamas government across all of Gaza; Ahmed al-Hetta, Gaza’s Deputy Minister of Justice; and Mahmoud Abu Wafta, the head of Hamas-led security services within the Gaza Strip. The IDF said its target list was developed in a joint operation with Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet.
What evacuation orders accompanied the strikes?
Parallel to the air campaign, Israel issued new evacuation orders covering the outer rim of Gaza: approximately two kilometers from the northern border, about one kilometer from the southern border, and three to five kilometers along various points of the long southeastern border with Israel. The orders pushed Gazan residents toward the territory’s center and toward the sea, tightening an already dire humanitarian situation worsened by a complete cutoff of aid.
Sources
- https://www.axios.com/2025/03/18/israel-gaza-war-resumes-airstrikes-hamas
- https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/17/world/israel-gaza-airstrikes
- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-conducts-strikes-hamas-targets-gaza-army-says-2025-03-18/
- https://apnews.com/live/latest-updates-israel-launches-new-wave-of-airstrikes-across-gaza-after-ceasefire-talks-stall?version=1742312973741
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/18/why-has-israel-resumed-large-scale-airstrikes-on-gaza
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vy3k4dpz0o
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/mar/18/israel-gaza-live-blog-updates-air-strikes-strip-netanyahu-hamas?page=with%3Ablock-67d8c57f8f08d62d8e6fa9a2&filterKeyEvents=false#liveblog-navigation
- https://www.bbc.com/news/live/czje23jd779t
- https://time.com/7268996/israel-airstrikes-gaza-hamas-cease-fire-phase-two-talks-stalled/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/world/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-firing-intelligence-chief.html
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-launches-strikes-hamas-netanyahu/
- https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-03-18-2025-0df87331efc6a7b1dfd99275f52868a5
- https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-f2d70486a9f863ac420a48c4d9efe83b
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-18/israel-attacks-targets-in-gaza-as-ceasefire-deadlock-breaks/105066816
- https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/middle-east/israel-gaza-strikes-ceasefire-netanyahu-hamas-latest-news-b2716964.html
- http://axios.com/2025/03/16/netanyahu-fire-shin-bet-ronen-bar
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-said-to-green-light-renewal-of-gaza-strikes-as-world-laments-truce-collapse/
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahus-court-testimony-today-canceled-pm-to-hold-urgent-security-consultation-at-11-a-m/
- https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/report-netanyahus-testimony-corruption-trial-postponed-due-gaza-war
- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/itamar-ben-gvir-reenters-israel-politics-gaza-conflict-escalates-2025-03-18/
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