Hamas fires at Tel Aviv as Israel demands for new Gaza leaders
In its first military retaliation to the mounting number of civilian deaths in Gaza, on March 20th, Hamas claimed to have launched missiles into Tel Aviv, the commercial centre of Israel, Al Monitor reported on March 20th. The attack follows Israel’s restart of air and ground operations.
Israel said it had closed off the territory’s main north-south route as troops expanded the ground operations they resumed on March 19th. Israel also claimed that the conflict was being resumed to put pressure on Hamas to free more Israeli hostages. The military said it was launching a “targeted ground operation”, targeting infrastructure and weapons sites belonging to Hamas.
According to Gaza’s civil defence service, the Israeli attack has killed 504 Palestinians so far, including over 190 children. The service’s last update said Israel’s violence had previously claimed at least 470 lives.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said it launched missiles into Tel Aviv in retaliation to Israel’s “massacres” of Gazan civilians.
According to NPR, after Hamas launched its attack on the capital city, the Israeli military expanded its ground offensive in Gaza, adding to its already intensive striking of the Strip.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared in a video message to Gazans that he was sending a “final warning,” calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas and the removal of the organisation from power in Gaza.
“What comes next will be much harsher, and you will bear the full consequences,” he added, while using Arabic subtitles to accompany his Hebrew speech. He later warned that Israel would act “with force beyond anything you have ever seen.”
This news comes after Hamas’ warning earlier this month that said their end of the implemented ceasefire deal depended on the release of more Palestinian prisoners, the BBC reported.
Al Monitor, NPR, the BBC
