Why did Israel bomb Gaza again and what will happen to the ceasefire?

Israeli warplanes carried out a wave of bombings in the Gaza Strip during the hours of yesterday, breaking a fragile ceasefire that has been largely maintained since its inception in January of this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overnight blamed Hamas for resuming the deadly air campaign.

The Israeli leader's statement said the military had received orders to take "strong measures" against Hamas, following its "repeated refusal to release our hostages" as well as its rejection of US proposals.

In local media, Israeli military sources have also spoken of an increase in Hamas activities to regroup its forces, reports bbc.

While the ceasefire was observed until midnight last night, officials from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 140 people had been killed by Israel in the two months since the ceasefire went into effect. In the past 24 hours alone, more than 400 people were killed in the latest attacks.

Read too Israeli attacks on Gaza – death toll rises to over 400, says Health Ministry

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has said it has repeatedly attacked targets it has identified as Hamas fighters who pose a threat to troops stationed in Gaza.

But the reasons for Netanyahu's decision to return to attacks on Hamas are a matter of dispute.

The Hostages and Lost Families Forum has accused the government of "a complete fraud" by pulling out of a deal "that could have brought everyone home".

Meanwhile, some of the prime minister's harshest critics suggest that the attacks are an attempt by Netanyahu to distract attention from the legal and political problems he is personally facing.

More critically, there is a fundamental disagreement between Israel and Hamas regarding who is to blame for the failure of recent efforts to advance a ceasefire.

What happened to the ceasefire talks?

The January 19 ceasefire agreement was negotiated over many months, with mediation by the US, Qatar and Egypt, and a detailed three-phase plan for how the ceasefire should proceed.

In the first phase, Hamas released 33 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing about 1900 Palestinian prisoners and allowing aid and other goods to enter the Gaza Strip.

As the guns fell silent and thousands of Gazans displaced returned home, Hamas and Israel were to begin negotiations to begin the second phase.

The parties had agreed that negotiations for the second phase would include the release of all remaining hostages as well as the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, leading to a permanent end to the war.

The first phase ended on March 1, but negotiations for the next phase had not made any progress, the Telegraph reports.

Read too World reactions to deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza

Instead, Israel imposed a complete ban on all aid entering Gaza, causing international alarm – and said it supported a new proposal drafted by the United States.

Over the past week in Qatar, Israeli and Hamas delegations met to negotiate how the ceasefire would continue, and US envoy Steve Witkoff presented the new “through liaison” proposal, which would have extended the expired first phase.

More hostages would return home in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners – but, more importantly, negotiations for a permanent end to the war would be postponed.

Herein lies a key element of why the ceasefire has failed.

Israel's two main objectives – returning the hostages and defeating Hamas – cannot be fully achieved together.

Hamas, to put it simply, has one card to play in the negotiations: hostages. They do not want to release more hostages in a future phase of the ceasefire unless it includes the start of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, as agreed in the original ceasefire.

Israel is opposing this. The new American proposal is an attempt to take more hostages, delaying the commitment to end the war and the question of whether Hamas will remain in any form.

In recent days, the US and Israel have portrayed Hamas' preference to stick to the terms of the original ceasefire agreement – ​​rather than negotiate its terms – as a "refusal" to extend the ceasefire.

Witkoff accused Hamas of "demands that are completely unachievable without a permanent ceasefire," claiming "publicly flexibility while privately making demands that are impossible."

Meanwhile, at the end of February, Israeli officials had already informed local media that their army would not withdraw from key locations in Gaza, violating the ceasefire agreement.

Despite the fact that we cannot know the details of the negotiation talks that took place behind closed doors – what we do know is that Israel’s ban on aid entering Gaza 17 days ago was an attempt to force Hamas to offer new concessions.

This has not worked so far, and now it appears that Israel has turned to violence to try to extract a new deal, one that is more favorable to the political leaders, and one that offers fewer victories for Hamas.

As of now, the situation in Gaza is likely to look different than it did during the past two months of the ceasefire.

Read too Israel consulted with US on Gaza strikes, White House spokeswoman says

This morning, the Israeli military released a map, ordering Palestinians to evacuate a large area along the Gaza Strip border, where thousands of Palestinians have undoubtedly returned.

Hamas, for its part, has demanded an end to the Israeli military operation and has not said whether it will return to war.

However, a BBC journalist near the Israel-Gaza border today was told by a soldier that 40 Israeli army reservists have been called up for duty. This appears to confirm reports in the Israeli press that the army has been preparing for a new invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Waging a new campaign in Gaza also presents a political advantage for Netanyahu. This morning, the far-right Jewish Weight party announced that it would return to the coalition its members, including former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned in protest over the ceasefire. Harnessing their cooperation will be essential for the government as it seeks to pass its current budget.

Israel's operations last night may have been a one-off attempt to force Hamas to make concessions at the negotiating table. However, they could also mark the start of a major wave of fighting on the ground, alarming weary families in Gaza and worried Israeli families of hostages alike. /Telegraph/