Israel has been accused of ending the ceasefire after dozens of people including children were killed in a series of air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza.
A senior Hamas official said Israel unilaterally overturned the ceasefire that began on January 19.
Unverified reports from medics say hundreds of people have died as a result of the strikes.
The Israeli army did not provide more details about the ‘extensive strikes’ but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying the military had been instructed to ‘take strong action against the Hamas terrorist organization’.
‘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 statement added.
‘Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.’
Three houses were hit in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, a building in Gaza City, and targets in Khan Younis and Rafah, according to medics and witnesses.
Footage being shared on social media claiming to be of the aftermath of the strikes show fires illuminating palm trees and debris as smoke billowed into the sky.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said there were at least 35 airstrikes on Gaza, with its ministry of health saying at least 44 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the strikes.
The Gaza health ministry later said that toll had risen to more than 200.
The White House was consulted by Israel prior to the strikes, Fox News reports.
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.
But talks have stalled due to a disagreement between Israel and Hamas on how to sustain the three-phase ceasefire that began in January.
Arab mediators, backed by the United States, haven’t been able to hammer out differences between the two warring parties in talks held over the past two weeks when the ceasefire was due to enter the second phase.
This came as Israel announced on March 2 it would be suspending the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza over a dispute around the timing of the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
When the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close in early March, Israel gave its backing to an extension it said was put forward by Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended,’ his office said in a statement earlier this month.
‘Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences,’ it added.
Hamas slammed the move, saying in a statement that the ‘decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement’.
On Saturday night, Netanyahu announced that Israel is prepared to continue ceasefire talks based on a US proposal for the release of 11 living hostages and half of the deceased.
In a statement on X, his office said: ‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an in-depth discussion this evening on the issue of the hostages, with the participation of the negotiating team and the heads of the security establishment.
‘Following the discussion, the Prime Minister instructed the negotiating team to prepare for the continuation of the talks as per the mediators’ response to the Witkoff proposal for the immediate release of 11 living hostages and half of the deceased hostages.’
On Friday Hamas said it would release the last living American-Israeli hostage and the remains of four other dual-national hostages after receiving a proposal from mediators to continue negotiations on the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Edan Alexander, 21, who has been held for 525 days, will be released along with the bodies of four other hostages who died in captivity, Hamas has claimed.
On March 15, Hamas said the release will only happen if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an ‘exceptional deal’ aimed at getting the truce back on track.
A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire’s second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days.
Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt.