Families Of Israeli Hostages Say Renewed Attacks In Gaza Could Be a Death Sentence For Their Loved Ones

The families of Israeli hostages decried the army's renewed attacks on Gaza, saying that resuming the war could be a death sentence for their loved ones.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticized the decision by the Benjamin Netanyahu government to "sacrifice the 59 captives" in Gaza (including those presumed dead) and called for urgent protests outside his office in Jerusalem.

"Military pressure will lead to the killing of living hostages and the disappearance of the fallen," the forum added. "We are horrified, furious and scared by the intentional shattering of the process of returning our loved ones from the terrible Hamas captivity." Netanyahu, in turn, said the attacks seek the "release of all our hostages."

Israel resumed attacks on Gaza on early Tuesday with an intense barrage that left hundreds of deaths, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. The body said over 400 people died and over 560 were injured, with many still under the rubble.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued evacuation orders to different neighborhoods across the Gaza Strip, with Netanyahu warning that "from now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force."

Netanyahu's government said it was resuming attacks after the first phase of the ceasefire failed to move forward to a second one, which would have negotiated the end of the war. However, Netanyahu's coalition has held off negotiations even though the first phase required they start on its 16th day.

Netanyahu was facing the possibility that his coalition would collapse in that scenario, given the fact that its right-wing coalition warned it would leave the government if Israel negotiated an end to the war.

The families' forum has demanded Netanyahu, along with all security chiefs, meet with them and explain "how it will be guaranteed that the hostages won't be harmed from the military pressure, and how [the government] plans to bring them back."

Farhan Haq, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the UN Secretary General was "shocked by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, in which a meaningful number of civilians have been killed." Several Middle Eastern countries have also criticized the actions. The Trump administration has not addressed the matter, but reports detailed that it was briefed before the Israeli strikes.