Israel’s military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from northern Gaza Today World News

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip sit in a makeshift tent camp inside a landfill in central Gaza Strip, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
| Photo Credit: AP

Sirens sounded Friday (March 21, 2025) afternoon in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, south of Tel Aviv. The military said it intercepted two rockets fired from northern Gaza.

Hamas said in a statement Friday (March 21, 2025) that the firing of Shin Bet’s head shows a “deepening crisis of distrust” within Israel’s leadership. It also said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the ceasefire negotiations “to stall and buy time without any genuine intention of reaching tangible outcomes.”

Mr. Netanyahu said he had ordered the resumed strikes on Gaza this week because of Hamas’ rejection of the new proposal.

A strike in Gaza killed several members of a family Friday (March 21, 2025) as Israel ordered ground forces to advance deeper into the territory and vowed to hold more land until Hamas releases its remaining hostages.

The explosion east of Gaza City killed a couple and their two children, plus two additional children who weren’t related to them but were in the same building, according to witnesses and a local hospital. The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the explosion.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday (March 21, 2025) that Israel would carry out operations in Gaza “with increasing intensity until the hostages are released by Hamas.”

“The more Hamas continues its refusal to release the kidnapped, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” Mr. Katz said.

Hours after Mr. Netanyahu’s Cabinet unanimously approved the firing Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security service, the Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt to his dismissal until an appeal can be heard no later than April 8. Mr. Netanyahu’s office had said Bar’s dismissal was effective April 10, but that it could come earlier if a replacement was found.

Israel’s attorney general has ruled that the Cabinet has no legal basis to dismiss Bar.

Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel on Tuesday (March 18, 2025) shattered a truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages and brought relative calm since late January.

The ceasefire agreed to in mid-January was a three-phase plan meant to lead to a long-term cessation of hostilities, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the return of all hostages taken by Hamas.

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces also withdrew to buffer zones inside Gaza, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to northern Gaza.

The ceasefire was supposed to last as long as talks on the second phase continued but Mr. Netanyahu balked at entering substantive negotiations.

Instead, he tried to force Hamas to accept a new ceasefire plan put forth by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

That plan would have required Hamas to release half its remaining hostages the militant group’s main bargaining chip in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners a key component of the first phase.

Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the original ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

The militant group has said it is willing to hand over power to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority or a committee of political independents but will not lay down its arms until Israel ends its decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.