Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that Tel Aviv began planning to resume its genocide campaign on the Gaza Strip "in the past few weeks after the new Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, assumed office."
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The leader of the far-right "Religious Zionism" party posted on X, stating, "As we promised and explained, the Israeli military has returned to an intense offensive on Gaza." He claimed that the new war is "a gradual operation that was built and planned in recent weeks since the new Chief of Staff took office," adding that it "will look completely different from what has been done so far," without providing further details.
In early March, Zamir took office as Chief of Staff of the Israeli military, succeeding the resigned Herzi Halevi, who led the genocide campaign against Palestinians in Gaza for over 15 months.
Last Monday, Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Zamir approved military plans to resume the war on Gaza during his visit to the Southern Command. The new plans include "intensifying airstrikes, expanding ground movements, evacuating northern Gaza of Palestinians, and preparing to call up hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers under emergency orders."
On Tuesday morning, Israel unexpectedly resumed its genocide campaign on Gaza with a large military escalation covering most areas of the strip, citing Hamas's refusal to accept offers from U.S. envoy Steve Wietkoff and other mediators, according to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Israel targeted civilians during suhoor, killing 326 Palestinians and injuring dozens more by 08:10 (UTC), with ongoing efforts to rescue victims from beneath the rubble. This attack is the largest violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. in January.
This new assault adds to the long list of Israeli aggressions on the Gaza Strip, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and deepening the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza under the continued siege and assault.
Regarding his stance on Netanyahu's policies toward Gaza, Smotrich reiterated his opposition to any deals between Tel Aviv and Hamas, stating: "At this moment, we have stayed in the government despite our opposition to the deal, and we are more determined than ever to complete the mission and destroy Hamas," according to his post on X.
Smotrich remained in the government, conditioning his participation on the "implementation of only the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement in Gaza, then returning to war."
By March 1, 2025, the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, which began on January 19, had concluded after 42 days of mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and U.S. support.
Netanyahu, however, avoided implementing the second phase of the agreement, aiming to release more Israeli prisoners without fulfilling the obligations of this phase, particularly ending the genocide and fully withdrawing from Gaza.
In contrast, Hamas has reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement, calling on Israel to comply with all of its provisions and urging mediators to begin immediate negotiations for the second phase, which includes Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip and a complete halt to the war.
