Israel launched new strikes against Hamas and promised 'increasing military force' after talks on on further hostage releases stalled.
Early Friday morning, Israel's Prime Minister's office said it instructed the army to strike Hamas across Gaza.
The statement said it was because of Hamas' repeated refusals to release its hostages and its rejection of all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators.
The strikes come after nearly two months of a ceasefire to pause the 17-month long war where dozens of hostages were released for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
As Israel carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon and southern Syria on Monday, at least 20 prople were killed, including a child, according to local authorities. The Israeli military said it was targeting militants plotting attacks.
Later in evening the casualty tally was spiraling upward. Medics were reporting at least 80 Palestinians killed in the coordinated airstrike, Reuters reported as of just before 10 p.m. ET.
As might be expected, Hamas quickly issued a statement saying the strikes constituted a breach of the fragile ceasefire.
The airstrikes were the latest in what have been frequent and often deadly attacks by Israeli forces during the fragile ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel has blocked all food, medicine, fuel and other supplies from entering Gaza the past two weeks, demanding Hamas accept changes in the two sides' ceasefire deal.
The prime minister issued this statement:
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF to take strong action against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.
"This follows Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.
"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.
"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.
"The operational plan was presented by the IDF over the weekend and approved by the political leadership."
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