Israel launches strikes on Gaza after accusing Hamas of ceasefire violations

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Israel launched a wave of air strikes across Gaza on Tuesday night after accusing Hamas of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, in a major threat to the fragile agreement to end the two-year-old war in the shattered enclave.

Local health officials in Gaza and Palestinian media reported that at least nine people were killed and several others were injured in raids that extended from Gaza City in the northern Strip to the central and southern areas of the Strip.

The Israeli military accused Hamas earlier Tuesday of shooting its soldiers in areas of southern Gaza still under Israeli control as part of the initial phase of the US-brokered truce.

An Israeli military official described the attack in the city of Rafah as a “flagrant violation” of the agreement, which aims to end the bloodiest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but has come under repeated pressure since it entered into force on October 10.

Israel also said Hamas violated the agreement on Monday by handing over the remains of an Israeli hostage, which authorities later concluded had already been recovered.

A forensic investigation conducted by Israeli authorities said the remains belonged to Ofir Tzarvati, whose body was officially found by the Israeli army in November 2023 and transported for burial.

After several hours of consultations with his security commanders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he “instructed the military command to immediately carry out strong strikes in the Gaza Strip.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Hamas “crossed a bright red line” with the attack in Rafah and warned that the movement “will pay a heavy price.”

Hamas said in a statement that it “has nothing to do” with the shooting in Rafah, and added that it is committed to the ceasefire agreement. Palestinian militants also accused Israel of violating the truce and trying to undermine US president Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict.

US Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News on Tuesday that the Trump administration expects Israel to respond to what he said was an attack on an Israeli soldier by “Hamas or anyone else inside Gaza.”

While Vance insisted that “the ceasefire is holding, that does not mean that there will not be small skirmishes here and there.”

“I think so [US] He added that the president’s peace will endure despite this.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas was to release all 48 remaining hostages it held – 20 of whom were alive – within three days of the truce taking effect.

While living hostages have been released, the movement has so far released only 15 bodies of hostages who were either killed in captivity or during its attack on October 7, 2023, which led to the outbreak of the Gaza War.

The Israeli authorities estimate that Hamas is deliberately delaying the return of the hostages’ remains, something the movement said was “unfounded.”

“[Israel] Hamas said that Israel continues to pursue a systematic policy of preventing and obstructing efforts to search for bodies, claiming that Israel “seeks to create false pretexts” in an attempt to escalate its attacks.

The military wing of Hamas said it postponed the handover of a deceased hostage that was scheduled for Tuesday evening due to what it said were Israeli “violations.”

Trump commented on Saturday, writing that the countries involved in the deal would “take action” if Hamas did not quickly return the hostages’ remains.

Egyptian technical teams and the Red Cross were deployed inside Gaza to help locate the deceased hostages.

Tzrefati was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, and killed in captivity, according to a statement issued by a forum representing the families of the hostages.

Additional remains were recovered separately and returned for burial in March 2024 as well, the Tzarfati family added.

The Israeli military on Tuesday released footage, captured from a military drone the day before, showing what it said was Hamas recovering the body of a hostage, which the group reburied and then handed over to the Red Cross. The FT was unable to independently verify the video.

As part of the ceasefire, Israeli forces partially withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line, located outside the main population centers in Gaza, although sporadic bloody clashes continued.

According to Gaza health authorities, more than 90 people have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect.

The Israeli army said that most of the casualties occurred as a result of Gazans approaching its forces on the yellow line that divides the Strip into two halves.

The fragile ceasefire faced a severe test just over a week ago when two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza and the Israeli military responded with a wave of air strikes.

The Trump administration quickly contained the escalation and urged both parties to adhere to the ceasefire.