Ceasefire collapse: Gaza witnesses deadly strikes; Aid flows stopped

Jerusalem – Israel launched air strikes on Sunday in Gaza after what it said was a Hamas attack on its forces, adding to the death toll in the two-year-old war and shaking a delicate US-brokered ceasefire that had brought a measure of relief to the besieged enclave.

The day turned into finger-pointing as each side accused the other of violating the agreement that President Trump, just six days ago, said would lead to a “golden age” of peace in the Middle East.

The ceasefire forced Israel to end its months-long blockade of the Strip, but Israel said on Sunday it had once again halted aid flows, potentially plunging Gaza back into famine even as aid groups demand additional supplies be trucked in.

Sunday’s strikes posed the strongest challenge yet to the uneasy truce that took effect on October 10 after intense diplomacy — and significant pressure on the belligerents — from Trump and a group of Arab and Muslim countries to stop the fighting and put an end to a war that has killed tens of thousands and leveled much of Gaza.

Live broadcasts on Sunday showed plumes of smoke rising across the Gaza Strip, as Israeli warplanes bombed multiple areas in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah, killing at least 15 people, Palestinian health officials said. The Israeli army said that a soldier and an officer were killed.

In a statement, the Israeli army accused Hamas of firing an anti-tank missile at its forces in southern Gaza, describing the attack as a “flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” The army added that it responded “to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel corridors and military structures used in terrorist activity.”

Later, local media reported dozens of attacks carried out by Hamas.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, “Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shot and every violation of the ceasefire.” “If the message is not understood, our response will become increasingly harsh.”

The Israeli army said that the targets included “weapons storage facilities, infrastructure used in terrorist activity, firing sites, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites.” The Israeli army also bombed and dismantled [nearly 4 miles] To the underground terrorist infrastructure, using more than 120 munitions.

Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, denied any connection to the violence in Rafah, saying it was “not aware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area” and that it had not had contact with any of its fighters since March, when Israel broke the previous ceasefire.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, insisted that it is Israel – and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – that continues to violate the agreement and create “false pretexts to justify its crimes.”

Al-Rishq wrote on his channel on the Telegram application, “Netanyahu’s attempts to evade and evade his obligations come under pressure from his extremist terrorist coalition, in an attempt to evade his responsibilities before mediators and guarantors.”

Hamas says Israel has violated the ceasefire 47 times, killing 38 Palestinians and wounding 143 others since the truce began on October 10.

In the days that followed, Hamas handed over more than 20 hostages alive who had been kidnapped in its operation on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war; In return, Israel released more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas also returned the bodies of 12 other hostages who died in captivity, and said it was still searching for the remains of 16 others.

The Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement later on Sunday that they had found another body and that they would hand it over to Israel that day “if field conditions permit.” She added that any escalation “will hinder search, excavation, and recovery of bodies.”

Israel still controls just over half of Gaza’s territory.

Sunday’s violence sparked calls from Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum to return to the fight against Hamas. One of Netanyahu’s rivals – Israeli politician Benny Gantz – said that “all options should be on the table.”

Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultra-nationalist minister in Netanyahu’s government who was against any truce with Hamas, said the fighting should resume “with maximum force.” His right-wing ally, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted one word: “War!”

Details regarding the motives that led to the Israeli attack remained scant. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the incident began at 10 a.m., when Hamas fighters emerged from a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at an engineering vehicle. This was followed by sniper shooting at another car.

But a Palestinian channel on the Telegram application considered close to Hamas said that the target was a Palestinian militia that operated throughout the war with Israel.

The leader of that militia, Yasser Abu Shabab, did not respond to questions sent to the militia’s email address.

The violence comes a day after the State Department said in a rare statement over the weekend that there were “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the residents of Gaza.”

The US State Department warned: “If Hamas continues this attack, measures will be taken to protect the residents of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.”

In response, Hamas rejected what it called “American allegations” and described them as “false,” and said that they were “fully consistent with misleading Israeli propaganda.” It accused Israel of supporting “criminal gangs” that it said were attacking Palestinian civilians.

The phrase “criminal gangs” was a clear reference to the militias competing with Hamas for control of Gaza. Last week, a video emerged of what was said to be Hamas members executing those accused of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza.

Last week, Trump referenced Gaza’s internal conflicts when he repeated his demand that Hamas adhere to a key part of the 20-point peace deal: disarming. If not, Trump warned Hamas, “We will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”

The war began after Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, two-thirds of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities, and kidnapping about 250 others.

The Israeli campaign on Gaza led to the death of more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which says that the majority of them are women and children and which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its statistics.