Israel strikes Gaza in fresh test of fragile ceasefire
Netanyahu ordered ‘powerful strikes’ over alleged Hamas attacks and violations, putting the US-brokered truce to a major test
The Israeli army launched a barrage of attacks in Gaza on Tuesday as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks into a fragile ceasefire, and the militant group responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage.
Local health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis.
The flare-up of violence presented one of the biggest tests so far for the truce and had international mediators scrambling to prevent it from collapsing. US Vice-President J.D. Vance attempted to play down the fighting, saying he expected “skirmishes” to quickly die down.
The order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch “powerful strikes” came after an Israeli official said its forces were fired upon in southern Gaza and after Hamas handed over body parts on Monday that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war.
Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday, sharing a video captured by a military drone in Gaza.