President Donald Trump give Israel the “green light” early Tuesday to resume large-scale bombings in Gaza, which killed at least 420 Palestinians, including 130 children.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Israeli official confirmed that Trump approved the resumption of attacks on Hamas after the group refused to release more hostages. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also stated that Israel had given advance notice of the attacks. She then reiterated Trump’s mid-February warning that “all hell [would] break loose.”
As of March 1, since taking office nearly two months ago, Trump has approved more than $12 billion in military aid to Israel — dubbed “sales” but entirely funded by U.S. taxpayers through Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants. This includes shipments of 2,000-pound bombs, weapons capable of leveling entire city blocks. The approach aligns with Trump’s vision of the enclave’s future — one without its Palestinian population.
U.S. Justifies Israeli Escalation
At a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, the United States firmly backed Israel, placing sole blame for the escalation on Hamas. Washington and Tel Aviv argued that Hamas provoked the renewed bombing by rejecting a unilaterally updated U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal. More on that later.
U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shay claimed Hamas had “steadfastly refused every proposal and deadline they’ve been presented over the past few weeks.” She specifically referenced a proposal to extend the truce beyond Ramadan and Passover to allow further talks on a long-term ceasefire.
According to The Times of Israel, Hamas maintained it already agreed to a ceasefire deal in January and insisted to sticking to the original terms.
Casualties and Threats of Further Bombings
Israeli leaders have vowed to escalate unless all hostages are immediately released.
“Hamas must understand that the rules of the game have changed,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Tuesday. He added,
If [Hamas] does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination.
But who is really on the receiving end? According to Haaretz, the Israeli military is deliberately targeting civil infrastructure to weaken Hamas’s governing capabilities. Drop Site News reported that Tuesday’s strikes killed “several members of Gaza’s government and a member of Hamas’s political bureau.” The rest — more than 300 civilians — were collateral by the Trump administration’s standards.
Shay told the UN,
The IDF is striking Hamas positions. It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice, as should others.
In other words, by that logic, a single Hamas fighter turns an entire building, hospital, or home into a legitimate target no matter how many civilians are trapped there.
In the meantime, Reuters reported on the nightmarish scenes:
In hospitals strained by 15 months of bombardment, piles of bodies in white plastic sheets smeared with blood could be seen stacked up as casualties were brought in.
Following the deadly strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “This is only the beginning.”
“From now on, negotiations will be conducted only under fire,” he stressed. It remains unclear how many hostages Netanyahu and his American allies expect to recover amid the renewed bombardment.
Ceasefire Violations
The January ceasefire agreement, brokered by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, was meant to halt hostilities. It included a multi-phase process: Hamas would release hostages, Israel would withdraw, and humanitarian aid would enter Gaza.
As the ink was still drying on the January 17 ceasefire deal, Netanyahu made a revealing statement. He said then-president-elect Trump had “emphasized” that the truce was only “temporary.”
Netanyahu also claimed Trump had given him “full backing” to resume the offensive at Israel’s discretion. The ceasefire had yet to take effect — it was set for January 19 — but the message was clear.
On February 9, Haaretz warned that Netanyahu likely planned to “derail” the agreement.
Indeed, since signing the deal, the Netanyahu government systematically sabotaged the truce. While food and some supplies were allowed into Gaza during the first 42 days, Israel blocked nearly all of the 60,000 mobile homes and allowed only a fraction of the 200,000 tents designated for displaced civilians under the deal.
Israeli forces also continued airstrikes, killing at least 130 Palestinians. On March 2, after the first phase ended, Israel imposed a total blockade on aid, cutting off food and medical supplies. One week later, Israel cut off electricity. That crippled Gaza’s desalination plants and left 600,000 people in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis with no clean drinking water.
Reports indicate that Israel refused to engage in negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. Instead, Netanyahu sought to extend the first phase without fulfilling Israel’s obligations under the deal.
Additionally, during the initial agreement, Israel reportedly refused to commit in writing to refrain from resuming hostilities after the first phase.
U.S. Intervention
As the second phase approached, the United States, under Trump, altered the deal’s terms. His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, introduced the Witkoff Proposal, which demanded Hamas release additional hostages. In return, Israel would agree to extend the ceasefire and allow the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, the proposal did not explicitly require Israel to fulfill its previous commitments — most notably, a full military withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas publicly denied rejecting the Witkoff Proposal, accusing Netanyahu of sabotaging the ceasefire through renewed attacks. “If Israel and the U.S. think they can change the agreement we reached, they are deluding themselves,” said senior Hamas official.
Despite public denials, reports indicate Hamas privately rejected the proposal, insisting Israel must uphold its withdrawal commitments. On Sunday, Witkoff called Hamas’s response “totally unacceptable” and threatened the group if they did not reconsider.
Trump’s Vision for Gaza
The renewed attacks are in line with Trump’s vision for Gaza’s future. In early February, he pledged to “take control over the Gaza Strip.” Trump said the U.S. would “own” it and turn it into a prosperous business hub.
Perhaps to reinforce this, in late February, Trump shared an AI-generated video of a futuristic Gaza. It featured luxury resorts, transgender belly dancers, cash falling from the sky and a golden statue of himself.
The video, widely circulated among his supporters, sparked outrage. Many condemned it as a cruel dystopian fantasy seeking to whitewash mass suffering.
Despite his anti-establishment, anti-war campaign, Trump’s foreign policy mirrors that of the past few administrations.
Rather than breaking with the past, Trump cements the status quo, building on the legacy of his predecessor — aptly dubbed “Genocide Joe.”
Related:
Trump: U.S. to “Own” and Rebuild Gaza, Displace Its People
“Cleaning Out” Gaza: Egypt and Jordan Reject Trump’s Relocation Calls
IDF to Oversee Gaza Cleansing; White House Calls It “Temporary”
