Gaza City, Gaza - Israel massacred more than 400 Palestinians in a horrific overnight attack on Gaza that destroyed whatever remained of its ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

The devastating airstrikes on the besieged territory were by far the biggest and deadliest since a truce took effect in January.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the bodies of 413 people had been received by Gaza hospitals.

"A number of victims are still under the rubble and work is underway to recover them," it added.

Daily Horoscope Today's horoscope: Free daily horoscope for Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity – warned Hamas this month of consequences it "cannot imagine" if it does not free hostages still in Gaza, and Israeli media reported on plans aimed at ramping up pressure on Hamas dubbed the "Hell Plan."

The White House said Israel consulted US President Donald Trump's administration before launching the slaughter, which Gaza's health ministry said killed mostly women and children.

Netanyahu's office said 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".

"We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved," Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

In a statement, Hamas said Israel had "decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement".

"Netanyahu's decision to resume war is a decision to sacrifice the occupation's prisoners and impose a death sentence on them," it said.

Hamas said the head of its government in Gaza, Essam al-Dalis, was among several officials killed in the strikes.

A Hamas official said the group was "working with mediators" to stop the bombardment, while the movement blamed what it described as "unlimited" US support for Israel.

In Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, AFP footage showed people rushing stretchers with wounded people, including young children, to the Nasser Hospital. Bodies covered with white sheets were also taken to the hospital's mortuary.

Mohammed Jarghoun (36) was sleeping in a tent near his destroyed house in Khan Yunis when he was woken by huge blasts.

"I thought they were dreams and nightmares, but I saw a fire in my relatives' house. More than 20 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women."

Daily Horoscope Today's horoscope: Free daily horoscope for Sunday, March 16, 2025

Ramez Alammarin (25) described carrying children to hospital southeast of Gaza City.

"They unleashed the fire of hell again on Gaza," he said of Israel, adding that "bodies and limbs are on the ground, and the wounded cannot find any doctor to treat them."

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza pleaded with Netanyahu to "stop the killing and disappearance" of their loved ones, and called for a protest in front of the premier's residence.

Brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, the initial phase of the ceasefire took effect on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of what numerous experts and organizations have deemed a genocidal assault by Israel.

That first phase ended in early March, Israel unilaterally refused to progress to the next stage as agreed upon and demanded Hamas agree to an extension which would lead to the release of more captives. All aid and power to Gaza has been cut off, which the UN has condemned as a war crime.

Witkoff told CNN on Sunday he had offered a "bridge proposal" that would see five living hostages, including Israeli-American Edan Alexander, released in return for freeing a "substantial amount of Palestinian prisoners" from Israel jails.

Hamas had said it was ready to free Alexander and the remains of four others, yet Witkoff still accused it of "an unacceptable response."

The US has unconditionally backed and facilitated Israel's destruction of Gaza under both President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden.