Israeli fighter jets unleashed a wave of bombardment across the Gaza Strip through the night, ripping into a fragile truce that has mostly held since it came into effect in January. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overnight laid the blame at Hamas's door for the renewal of his deadly aerial campaign.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had ordered the aerial attacks after Hamas’s “repeated refusal” to release the remaining hostages it holds. “This is just the beginning,” he said.

More than 200 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-ruled enclave's Ministry of Health said, as Hamas accused Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire deal.