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Episode details

World Service,19 Mar 2025,26 mins

Why has Israel gone back to war?

The Global Story

Available for over a year

On Tuesday night, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that combat against Hamas in Gaza had resumed in full force. This followed several hours of early morning air strikes targeting Gaza, which killed more than 400 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, making it one of the deadliest days of the conflict so far. Jonny Dymond speaks to the BBC’s Jon Donnison, who witnessed the strikes from the Israeli border town of Sderot. He helps us to understand this latest escalation and why Israel has decided to return to war. Producers: Richard Moran, Mhairi MacKenzie and Tom Kavanagh Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas Senior news editor: China Collins

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