A senior Hamas official is warning that Israel’s decision to resume the war against the terror group after ceasefire talks stalled is a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages, according to The Associated Press.

That could include the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, who was born in Tel Aviv and raised in New Jersey. A group of hostage family members expressed outrage at Israel’s decision.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Israel “chose to give up on the hostages” by resuming the war. The organization called for protests on Tuesday following the airstrikes, saying that “military pressure could further endanger their lives and complicate efforts to bring them home safely.”

There are still 59 hostages in Gaza, but Israel believes only 24 of those who remain are alive. The ceasefire was meant to be carried out in two phases. However, talks on phase two, which would have meant an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages, have stalled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with security officials at the Kirya, Israel’s version of the Pentagon, on Tuesday following the airstrikes. 

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” according to Netanyahu’s office wrote in a series of posts on X as the airstrikes commenced.

A child sits amid rubble as Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

Palestinians were ordered by Israel to evacuate eastern Gaza, signaling the IDF could resume its ground operations in the Strip, according to The Associated Press.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk’s office called the airstrikes “horrifying,” saying “this nightmare must end immediately.”

“It is time for the countries of the world to take seriously our unwavering commitment to return all our hostages home and defeat the enemy,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement. “Let me be clear: Nothing will stop us from fighting to free our hostages who have been held in brutal Hamas captivity for 527 days.”

Fox News’ Trey Yingst, Louis Casiano, Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.