Which is the reason that ionic compounds are brittle?

In ionic compounds, cation(positively charge) and anions(negatively charge) are attracted to each other, forming bonds. When force is applied, such as hammer strike, ions rearranged and similar charge align. Such as cation with cation and anion with anion. Bonds break when similar charges repel. That is the reason why ionic compounds are brittle.

Nuetron is located in the nucleus it has a charge of 0 and a mass of 1
Proton is located in the nucleus it has a charge of +1 and a mass of 1
An electron is located in the shells it has a charge of -1 and a mass of 0