Israel says Gaza strikes won't stop until release of all hostages; Hamas decries "war of genocide"

Israel has vowed to continue with its airstrikes on Gaza, after a fresh wave of bombardment led to the collapse of a two-month ceasefire early Tuesday, with its officials saying that the attacks will not stop until it secures the release of all remaining hostages from Hamas captivity.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army conducted intense airstrikes on northern and central Gaza Strip, marking the most violent escalation since a ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19.

According to Israeli media reports, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement following Tuesday's airstrikes that if Hamas does not release all hostages, "the gates of hell will open in Gaza," and Hamas will encounter the Israeli military "with an intensity they have never known before."

Meanwhile, Danny Danon, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), also said in a post on his social media account that Israel will show "no mercy" until all hostages are returned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced early Tuesday that Netanyahu and Katz had ordered the military to "operate against Hamas with increasingly powerful military force."

According to the statement, the move followed what it described as Hamas's "repeated refusal to release hostages" and rejection of proposals presented by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and other mediators.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Hamas accused Netanyahu and Israeli government of "resuming aggression and a war of genocide" against civilians in the Gaza Strip, holding Israel fully responsible for the repercussions of the renewed escalation.

Hamas accused Netanyahu's government of deliberately overturning the ceasefire agreement, thereby exposing prisoners in Gaza to an uncertain fate.

Hamas further appealed to the United Nations and the UN Security Council to "convene urgently to adopt a resolution obligating Israel to immediately halt its aggression and implement Resolution 2735, which calls for an end to hostilities and a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."

Israel says Gaza strikes won't stop until release of all hostages; Hamas decries "war of genocide"

Israel says Gaza strikes won't stop until release of all hostages; Hamas decries "war of genocide"

Israel says Gaza strikes won't stop until release of all hostages; Hamas decries "war of genocide"

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight