Israel Resumes War In Gaza

Israel killed more than 400 people in its scorched earth bombings Tuesday.

Among the dead are at least 174 children and 89 women, local officials tell @DropSiteNews https://t.co/Je308j0pgB

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) March 18, 2025

After recently hitting a 25 year low in American sympathy and plummeting to less than 50% support among Americans, Israel chose to resume the war in Gaza last night.

Axios:

“Israel resumed the war in Gaza with a series of massive airstrikes against what it described as Hamas targets all across the enclave overnight.

The latest: More than 400 Palestinians were killed in the airstrikes, per the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes told Axios, “Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”

The big picture: The strikes come exactly two months after the signing of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal that the Biden administration brokered with the help of the incoming Trump administration. …

I was putting our kids to bed when the news broke.

It has been clear for a while now that the war was merely paused in exchange for the return of hostages. There was only a temporary ceasefire and never a negotiated settlement.

From what I understand, the negotiations over the release of hostages broke down and Israel and Hamas have both pointed fingers at each other for the collapse. Personally, I don’t believe Israel ever intended to move forward into the second phase of implementing the agreement it negotiated.

The last two months of relative peace and quiet in the Middle East has been a refreshing change from the daily carnage of the Biden administration. I won’t pretend to know what the future holds in Gaza. I hope the negotiations resume, the hostages are released and the ceasefire is extended. I hope this is just a temporary setback rather than a full return to the genocide that unfolded under Biden.

Either way, I expect support for Our Greatest Ally will continue to evaporate. If the war really is back on though, I expect it will be a bigger problem for Democrats who are very divided over the issue and who currently lack both leadership and a clear identity. It could escalate the current infighting.

It goes without saying that the last thing Americans want is to get bogged down in another stupid war in the Middle East. I remain confident that the Trump administration understands this.