Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv as Israel renews Gaza ground campaign

According to Hamas, it has launched three rockets at Tel Aviv since Israel resumed military operations in the Gaza Strip, marking the group's first counterattack since Israel restarted its offensive. Israel stated that it had intercepted one of the missiles, while the others landed in open areas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that it had launched ground operations in Palestinian territory. This follows a period of relative calm in large-scale military operations since Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in January. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer accused Hamas of causing the renewed escalation of violence, stating that it "forced the escalation and refused every hostage deal mediated by the U.S. and other countries."

The Israeli military stated that it has begun "ground activity" in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border. The statement said that troops had "dismantled...terror infrastructure," and added that Israeli forces are also continuing ground operations in northern and central Gaza. The Israeli military had earlier stated that it had begun "targeted ground activity" to establish what it called a "partial buffer zone between the north and south" of Gaza, calling the operation a "limited ground operation."

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa), posted on social media platform X that five of the agency's staff members had been killed in the "past few days," including teachers, doctors, and nurses. He warned that "the worst is yet to come" amid the ongoing ground invasion. Previously, the UN stated that one staff member was killed after a UN compound in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza was damaged. Jorge Moreira, head of the United Nations Office for Project Services, said that the situation was unclear, but "this was not an accident" and was "at least an incident."

The United States, as Israel's main arms supplier, stated its commitment to complying with international law regarding arms supplies. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that U.S. President Donald Trump "fully supports Israel and the IDF's actions in recent days." British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed on Thursday that a British citizen was injured in the compound attack. This followed a statement from a charity that one of its 51-year-old British bomb disposal experts was injured.

In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis participated in protests against Netanyahu, calling for the release of hostages. Police arrested several people and used water cannons against protesters in Jerusalem. Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile at Israel on Thursday, targeting Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. The Israeli military stated that the missile was intercepted before entering Israeli territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel had "fully resumed fighting" and that any ceasefire negotiations would take place "under fire."

A group representing the families of hostages accused the Israeli government of "abandoning the hostages" by launching the new offensive. Israel and Hamas failed to agree on how to extend the ceasefire agreement beyond the first phase, which expired on March 1. Hamas disagreed with renegotiating the ceasefire agreement according to Israel's conditions, although it offered to release one living American hostage and the remains of four hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire agreement. The war was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 251 people as hostages. During the first phase of the ceasefire, 25 Israeli and 5 Thai hostages were released alive.