IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen Eyal Zamir, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) director Ronen Bar, and the Commanding Officer of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, commanded the strikes in Gaza from the IAF’s Underground Operations Center on Monday night.
The IDF released videos and photos from the command center, depicting the three men in deep discussion as the strikes took place.
Zamir has been in the role for just a few weeks, having replaced former IDF chief Herzi Halevi on 6 March.
The Prime Minister's Office said that the strikes were in response to Hamas's refusal to release the hostages still held in Gaza and that "Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength."
Katz: The gates of hell
"Tonight, we resumed fighting in Gaza due to Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages and its threats against IDF soldiers and Israeli communities," Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a statement.
He then threatened that if Hamas did not release more hostages, the IDF would attack more ferociously than before and unleash "the gates of hell in Gaza."