Israel launches full-scale strikes against Hamas in Gaza,66 killed

Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was striking Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January. The IDF targeting mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure.According to the IDF, dozens of strikes have been carried out so far. The strikes were ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.The death toll in Gaza has climbed to 59. As per reports of Gaza-based medics who add that roughly 150 have been wounded throughout the Strip.Agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that 66 people were killed "and more than 150 wounded as a result of the aggression, aerial bombardment and artillery shelling" across the territory.
In a brief statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said “the gates of hell will open in Gaza” if hostages aren’t released.“We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said.Israel says it is striking Hamas targets throughout the Strip. The IDF has long maintained that it doesn’t target civilians, while Hamas hides among them.
Israel's military said on Monday it was striking military sites in southern Syria, as the country's health ministry reported three killed in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Daraa. "The presence of military assets in southern Syria poses a threat to the State of Israel," it said, adding the military "will not allow the presence of military threats in southern Syria and will operate against it."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said Israel targeted a military site once belonging to ousted president Bashar al-Assad's army but now used by the forces of Syria's new authorities. In a statement Syria's health ministry reported "three martyrs and 19 civilians injured, including four children and a woman, as a result of an Israeli airstrike targeting the outskirts of Daraa"