The Israeli military said yesterday that a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack that killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of air strikes that killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month’s US-brokered truce.
Aid into the enclave was set to resume today following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced a halt in supplies in response to what it said was a ‘blatant’ violation by Hamas of the truce.
The Israeli strikes killed at least 26 people in Gaza, including at least one woman and one child, according to local residents and health authorities.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Israel today, an Israeli official and a US official said.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets across the enclave, including field commanders, gunmen, a tunnel and weapons depots, after fighters launched an anti-tank missile and fired on its troops, killing the soldiers.
At least one strike hit a former school sheltering displaced people in the area of Nuseirat, residents said.
The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in contact with groups there since March.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as the violations of the ceasefire.
Fearing the truce may collapse, some Palestinians rushed to buy goods from a main market in Nuseirat and families fled their homes in Khan Younis further south, after air strikes hit nearby.
The strikes were reminiscent of Israel’s response to what it viewed as serious violations of its ceasefire with Hamas’ Lebanese ally Hizbollah in late 2024, less than a week after it came into effect and after days of mutual accusations of truce breaches, though that ceasefire has since largely held.
But formidable obstacles remain in the way of a durable peace in Gaza, where a ceasefire collapsed in March after nearly two months of relative calm when Israel unleashed a barrage of air strikes.
The new ceasefire took effect on October 10, halting two years of war, but the Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the ‘yellow line’ to where Israeli forces had pulled back under the ceasefire agreement would be physically marked and that any violation of the ceasefire or attempt to cross the line would be met with fire.
Hamas detailed what it said was a series of violations by Israel that it says have left 46 people dead and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.
On Saturday, Israel said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had been expected to be reopened this week, would remain closed and that its reopening would depend on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire.
Israel says Hamas is being too slow in handing over bodies of deceased hostages. Hamas last week released all 20 living hostages it had been holding and in the following days has handed over 12 of the 28 deceased captives.
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