Israel has launched a wave of air strikes on Gaza, killing hundreds of people and shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.Tuesday’s attacks, which took place across Gaza, were Israel’s most intense since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported at least 404 people killed and 562 wounded.
Here is how the world is reacting to the deadly attacks:
Hamas
Hamas, which governs Gaza, said it viewed Israel’s attacks as a unilateral cancellation of the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate,” Hamas said in a statement, referring to people captured in southern Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks.
Later, Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said in a statement that “Netanyahu’s decision to resume war” was “a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them”.
Israel
Netanyahu’s office said the operation was open-ended and expected to expand.
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force,” it said, adding that the operation was ordered after “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”.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved.”
United States
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “the Trump administration and the White House” had been consulted by Israel on the attacks.
“As President [Donald] Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorise not just Israel but also the United States of America will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” she said.
Acting US ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea told a United Nations Security Council briefing that the blame for the resumption of hostilities “lies solely with Hamas,” as she said the group refused every ceasefire proposal and extending stage one fo the current deal.
“We support Israel in its next steps,” she said, adding that the US rejects allegations that Israel Defense Forces were conducting indiscriminate attacks.
Families of Israeli captives
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of captives held in Gaza, said in a post on X that the Israeli government’s decision to launch new attacks showed it had chosen “to give up on the hostages”.
“We are shocked, angry, and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the group said. It asked the government why it “backed out of the ceasefire” with Hamas.
Houthis
Yemen’s Houthi rebels promised to respond with an escalation in support of Palestinians.
“We condemn the Zionist enemy’s resumption of aggression against the Gaza Strip,” the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council said in a statement. “The Palestinian people will not be left alone in this battle, and Yemen will continue its support and assistance, and escalate confrontation steps.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group accused Israel of “deliberately sabotaging all efforts to reach a ceasefire”.
China
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was “highly concerned” about the situation, calling for parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster”.
Russia
The Kremlin warned of a “spiral of escalation” in the wake of Israel’s strikes.
“Especially concerning, of course, are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We are monitoring the situation very closely, and of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course.”
Egypt
Egypt, which is acting as a mediator alongside Qatar and the US, called Israel’s air strikes a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire.
The strikes constitute a “dangerous escalation that threatens to have serious consequences for the stability of the region”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Qatar
Mediator Qatar strongly condemned the attacks with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs warning in a statement that Israel’s “escalating policies will ultimately ignite the region and undermine its security and stability”.
Iran
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the US has direct responsibility for “the continuation of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Saudi Arabia
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement voiced “Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and denunciation in the strongest terms of the Israeli occupation forces’ resumption of aggression … and their direct bombardment of areas populated by unarmed civilians”.
Jordan
“We have been following since last night Israel’s aggressive and barbaric bombing of the Gaza Strip,” government spokesman Mohammed Momani said, emphasising “the need to stop this aggression”.
Turkiye
Turkiye said the attacks amounted to a “new phase in its [Israel’s] policy of genocide” against the Palestinians.
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is unacceptable for Israel to cause a “new cycle of violence” in the region, adding that the Israeli government’s “hostile approach” threatened the future of the Middle East.
France
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned the strikes, calling for “an immediate end to hostilities, which are jeopardising efforts to free the hostages and threatening the lives of the civilian population in Gaza”.
United Kingdom
The UK government called on Israel and Hamas to implement their ceasefire in Gaza “in full”, calling for all parties to “return urgently to dialogue”.
“We want to see this ceasefire agreement re-established as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said, adding that reported civilian casualties from the Israeli strikes overnight were “appalling”.
Ireland
Prime Minister Micheal Martin condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza and called on all parties to “respect the ceasefire and the agreement to release hostages and return to negotiations”.
“For the sake of all the civilians in Gaza, who have already endured unimaginable hardships, there must be an urgent end to all hostilies,” Martin said in a statement posted on X.
Belgium
“I call on the parties to implement the second phase of the [ceasefire] agreement, which must pave the way for reconstruction and peace for all,” Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X.
He denounced “the new Israeli strikes and their heavy human toll”, adding that Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Palestinians was “a serious violation of international law”.
Italy
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza put the prospect of a deal to release the captives at risk.
“We are following with great concern the resumption of fighting in Gaza… which jeopardises the objectives we are all working towards: the release of all hostages and a permanent end to hostility, as well as the restoration of full humanitarian assistance in the (Gaza) Strip,” Meloni told the Italian Senate.
Spain
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza and said he “can’t find the words to describe the situation in Gaza”.
“We must mourn and reject this new wave of violence and these new bombings, which indiscriminately hit the civilian population,” he told broadcaster Onda Cero.
Germany
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Israeli strikes on the enclave is a “cause for great concern”.
“The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. Fleeing children and internally displaced persons must never be used as leverage in negotiations,” Baerbock said.
Netherlands
Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp said on X that “all hostilities must end permanently”.
“The Netherlands calls on all parties to respect the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. All civilians must be protected, “ he said. “We urge all parties to implement it in full: the remaining hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must reach those in need.”
Norway
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said the Israeli strikes were “a great tragedy” for the people of Gaza. “They are almost without protection. Many of them live in tents and on the ruins of what has been destroyed,” he said.
Switzerland
“Switzerland calls for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” its Federal Department of Foreign Affairs wrote on X.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson that he is “shocked” by the Israeli attack, which has killed “a meaningful number of civilians”.
Guterres “strongly appeals for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be reestablished and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally”, the statement said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk voiced his horror over the intense Israeli strikes.
“This will add tragedy onto tragedy,” he said in a statement. Israel using yet more military force would “only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions”.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, condemned the attack on social media. “Awful scenes of civilians killed among them children following waves of heavy bombardment from Israeli Forces overnight,” he wrote. “Fuelling ‘hell on earth’ by resuming the war will only bring more despair & suffering.”
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
CAIR, a Washington, DC-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, said in a statement that it condemned Netanyahu’s government “for resuming its horrific and genocidal attacks on the men, women and children of Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians in a matter of hours”.
“Netanyahu would clearly rather massacre Palestinian children in refugee camps than risk the disintegration of his cabinet by exchanging all those held by both sides and permanently ending the genocidal war, as required by the ceasefire agreement that President Trump helped broker and that he must salvage,” the organisation said.
Save the Children
Rachael Cummings, Save the Children’s humanitarian director based in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, said the collapse of the ceasefire was “nothing short of a death sentence for Gaza’s children”.
The denial of aid coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan amounted to “a grave violation against children”, she said.
Australia
“There’s already been enormous suffering there [in Gaza], which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region.”