Hamas 'chose' war as Israel restarts military operations, White House says

The White House put the onus on Hamas for Israel’s renewed military operations in Gaza overnight due to its repeated refusal to agree to release hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel Defense Forces to “act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the resumption of military strikes in Gaza “follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages.”