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.

Israelis protested outside government offices in Jerusalem on Tuesday after extensive airstrikes by the military in the Gaza Strip, marking the largest offensive since January's ceasefire.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, Israelis mobilized almost without reservation for war, and sacrifice. But the overnight airstrikes that killed hundreds in Gaza finds many Israelis exhausted by a long war and suspicious of their leaders’ motivations.