GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Hamas said Tuesday that it did not reject a proposal from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of resuming a genocidal onslaught on the Gaza Strip to sabotage a ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli army pounded Gaza earlier in the day killing at least 404 victims, injuring more than 562, and breaking the agreement that took effect Jan. 19.

Images showed the majority of the victims were civilians, including women and children, whose homes were bombed during the night.

“The movement maintains constant contact with mediators, handling proposals to stop the aggression and lift the siege with high responsibility and positivity,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement. “Witkoff’s proposal was on the negotiating table, and Hamas didn’t reject it, engaging with it positively, but Netanyahu restarted the war to scuttle the deal.”

Al-Qanoua noted that Israel “closed crossings, tightened the siege, blocked aid, and refused second-phase talks, seeking to overturn the agreement and resume hostilities.”

He stressed that “Hamas’s interest lay in sustaining the deal, and it will continue dealing flexibly and positively with mediators to end the aggression against our people and compel the occupation to honor the agreement.”

The attacks represent the most significant violation of a fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US in January, which was shattered by Israel’s sudden escalation in Gaza.

Israeli media reported Thursday that Witkoff presented an updated proposal to both sides, offering the release of five Israeli captives for a 50-day truce, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, humanitarian aid access and talks on the second phase of the three-phase ceasefire.

Hamas announced Friday it accepted a mediators’ proposal, agreeing to release an Israeli-American soldier and four bodies of dual nationals to resume phase two of the negotiations.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office claimed the military targeted Hamas sites in the attack, and vowed that “Israel, from now on, will now act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”

While Tel Aviv cites the captives and perceived threats from Gaza as objectives, Israeli analysts linked the renewed genocide to Netanyahu’s push to pass a budget and avert a government’s collapse by late March.

By resuming the massacres, Netanyahu secured the return of resigned National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the coalition, ensuring his far-right Jewish Power party’s support for the budget.

More than 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught in Gaza since October 2023.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.