Israel launched new strikes against Hamas on Tuesday and promised "increasing military force" after talks on further hostage releases stalled.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 200 people were killed and another 150 were wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in Gaza in response to the group's refusal to release hostages and rejection of all ceasefire proposals.

"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

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.

A senior Hamas official accused Israel of unilaterally overturning the ceasefire agreement.

In a statement, Hamas said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate".

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Beijing on Tuesday called for steps to prevent a "humanitarian disaster" in Gaza.

"China is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, calling for the parties to "avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster". (Agencies)
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Last updated: 2025-03-18 HKT 16:45