The Israeli military said it launched air strikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza on Sunday, dimming hopes that a U.S.-mediated ceasefire would result in lasting peace as Israel traded blame with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel’s attacks on Sunday were probably the most serious test of an already fragile ceasefire, which took effect on October 11.
Israel’s military said in a press release that the strikes targeted militants within the Rafah area who had opened fire on its soldiers. It said the attacks destroyed tunnels and military buildings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate forcefully to Hamas attacks on its soldiers.
Hamas’ armed wing said in a press release that it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement in all of Gaza, adding that it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and that it has not been involved with groups there since March.
“We affirm our full commitment to implementing all agreements, foremost amongst them the ceasefire across all areas of the Gaza Strip,” the Al-Qassam Brigades said.
Palestinian witnesses on Sunday individually told Reuters of explosions and gunfire in Rafah, tank fire within the southern town of Abassan near Khan Younis, an airstrike within the central town of Zawayda and explosions within the central town of Deir Al-Balah, which killed a minimum of five people, based on medics at Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Witnesses in Khan Younis heard a wave of airstrikes launched into Rafah early on Sunday afternoon.
A minimum of 8 dead in Gaza, Hamas-run Health Ministry says
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli attacks had killed a minimum of eight people within the last 24 hours.
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An Israeli military official said earlier on Sunday that Hamas had carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza, including a rocket-propelled grenade attack and a sniper attack against Israeli soldiers.
“Each of the incidents happened in an Israeli-controlled area…This can be a daring violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the “yellow line” to where Israeli forces had pulled back under the ceasefire agreement could be physically marked and that any violation of the ceasefire or try and cross the road could be met with fire.
Senior Hamas official Izzat Al Risheq said on Sunday that the Palestinian militant group remained committed to the ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating.
The federal government media office in Gaza said on Saturday that Israel had committed 47 violations after the ceasefire deal, leaving 38 dead and 143 wounded.
“These violations have ranged from direct shooting at civilians, to deliberate shelling and targeting operations, in addition to the arrest of several civilians,” the media office statement said.
Rafah crossing to stay closed
The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing one another of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.
Rafah has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where tons of of hundreds of individuals were determined in August to be affected by famine, based on the IPC global hunger monitor.
The crossing has in previous ceasefires functioned as a key conduit for humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages.
Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased and has said it has little interest in keeping the bodies of remaining hostages. The group said the method needs effort and special equipment to get better corpses buried under rubble.
Formidable obstacles to Trump’s plan to finish the conflict still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the long run governance of Gaza, the make-up of a global “stabilization force,” and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.
The U.S. State Department didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Renewed fighting in Gaza and concerns over the ceasefire pushed key Tel Aviv share indices down nearly 2% on Sunday.
–Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Maayan Lubell, Jaidaa Taha, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Alexander Cornwell and Steven Scheer; Writing by Andrew Mills; Editing by Sharon Singleton