Over 330 people have died, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.

Israel has unleashed its most intense campaign in Gaza since a ceasefire in January. International rescue workers reported more than 121 dead, prompting Hamas to accuse Benjamin Netanyahu's government of having failed the truce, AFP reported.

The strikes were ordered after "Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all the offers it received from US presidential envoy Steve Whitkoff and the mediators," Netanyahu's office said.

An Israeli official said the operation "will last as long as necessary and will extend beyond air strikes."

Hamas reported that "Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to cancel the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate."

General Mahmoud Abu Watfa, who headed the militant movement's interior ministry in the territory, was killed in the overnight strikes.

Abu Watfa, who headed Hamas's police and internal security services in the Gaza Strip, was killed in the strike on Gaza City, said the two sources, one of whom is an interior ministry official.

Gaza's health ministry announced a new death toll - "at least 330" - in Israeli strikes overnight in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since the truce began on 19 January.

Brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the initial phase of the ceasefire came into effect on 19 January, largely ending more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza.

This first phase ended in early March, and while the two sides have since refrained from all-out war, they have been unable to agree on the next steps in ceasefire negotiations.

In a Telegram post in the early hours of 18 March, the Israeli army said it was currently "carrying out large-scale strikes against terrorist targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip".

Israel ordered all schools located near Gaza's neighbouring regions to be closed, with the government saying it would now act with "increased military force" against Hamas.

On March 16, Whitkoff said he had offered a "bridge proposal" under which five living hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, would be released in exchange for the release of "a significant number of Palestinian prisoners" from Israeli jails.

Hamas said it was prepared to release Alexander and the remains of four others, whom a movement official described as Israeli-Americans.

Witkoff added that Hamas had provided an "unacceptable response" to the offer and "the window of opportunity is quickly closing." | BGNES