Israel says it will return to ceasefire after Gaza strikes
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The Israeli military has said it will resume enforcement of the ceasefire in Gaza after launching air strikes on Sunday in response to what it called Hamas’s “blatant violation” of the deal.
Strikes began in southern Gaza after the Israeli military said “terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire” toward its troops in Rafah, killing two soldiers.
Hamas said it was “unaware” of any clashes in the area under Israeli control.
By evening, Israel said it had hit Hamas targets across Gaza, with hospital sources saying 44 people were killed.
Hamas had said it was committed to the ceasefire, but accused Israel of violations and warned strikes could “push the situation toward a total collapse”.
After 21:00 local time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it “had begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”, adding that it would uphold the agreement and “respond firmly to any violation of it”.
The statement did not directly specify whether an earlier announcement to suspend aid entering Gaza had also been reversed.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived in Washington DC on Sunday, Trump said the ceasefire was still in place. He added that Hamas had been “rambunctious and they’ve been doing some shooting”, but that it might be “some rebels within” the armed group.
“Either way it’s gonna be handled properly. Toughly but properly,” he added.
The first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, which started on 10 October, saw an immediate end to fighting, the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops to a so-called yellow line along the north, east and south of Gaza, and an increase of aid.
Hamas has released all living hostages, as well as the remains of 12 out of 28 of those deceased.
Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, and returned 15 bodies of Palestinians in return for every Israeli hostage’s remains.
That agreement was put to the test on Sunday. Gaza suffered the worst day of violence since US President Donald Trump gathered world leaders in Egypt last week beneath a banner proclaiming “Peace in the Middle East”.
American pressure is now needed to keep this ceasefire deal on track and to that end Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are due in Israel shortly.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said “terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern Gaza”.
“In response, the IDF has begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity.”
Hamas’s military wing denied knowledge of any clashes in the Rafah area.
In its statement, al-Qassam Brigades said: “Contact with our remaining groups there has been cut off since the resumption of war in March of this year.
“Therefore, we have no connection to any events taking place in those areas, and we cannot communicate with any of our fighters there, if any of them are still alive.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said two soldiers – Major Yaniv Kola and Sergeant Itay Yavetz – were killed in “the tragic incident in Rafah”.
His office earlier said Netanyahu had met top defence officials and instructed them “to act forcefully against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip”.
