The White House said Israel consulted United States President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the strikes, while Israel said the return to fighting was “fully coordinated” with the US.

A US state department spokesperson said: “Hamas bears total responsibility … for the resumption of hostilities.”

‘Intolerable level of suffering’

Medical facilities that “have already been decimated” by the war were now “overwhelmed”, she said.

Negotiating teams from Israel and Hamas had been in Doha as mediators from Egypt and Qatar sought to bridge the gap between the two sides following the end of an initial phase in the ceasefire, which resulted in the release of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals in Gaza in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and those held under administrative detention.

A family prepares Iftar over a fire in the rubble of their destroyed home during Ramadan in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on Monday. Source: AAP, EPA / Haitham Imad

With the backing of the US, Israel had been pressing for the return of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for a longer-term truce that would have halted fighting until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday in April.

Israel’s renewed pressure on Hamas came as tensions flared elsewhere in the Middle East, a major supplier of oil to global markets, which has resulted in the Gaza war spread to Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.