ISRAEL says ceasefire has been restored in Gaza after 46 were killed in a day of violence which threatened to plunge the Strip back into war.
The IDF blitzed “terror targets” in southern Gaza with a wave of airstrikes this morning after it accused Hamas of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire”.
Hamas fired an anti-tank missile and guns towards IDF troops this morning in Rafah, Israel claimed.
Two soldiers – Yaniv Kola and Itay Yavetz – were announced to have been killed.
Hamas denied breaching the ceasefire, saying it was “unaware of any events or clashes” in Rafah and insisting it was still committed to the ceasefire.
In response, the IDF announced a “wave of strikes” in southern Gaza, reporting that “dozens of terror targets” were eliminated.
Reports suggest that six Hamas fighters were killed, and a hospital told the BBC that 44 Gazans died in total today.
Israel also blocked aid from flowing into the Strip – and all this just days after a US-brokered peace deal was declared.
This evening, the IDF said it had “renewed enforcement” of the ceasefire deal – which includes an end to all fighting and aid flooding into Gaza.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will retaliate forcefully” to Hamas attacks on its forces.
Netanyahu met with his defence minister and top security chiefs and ordered them “to act forcefully against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip,” his office said.
An Israeli military official said Hamas fighters launched “multiple attacks” beyond the yellow line marking Israeli military zones, calling it “a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”
These reportedly included an RPG strike and sniper fire against Israeli forces.
The IDF said earlier that on Friday “several terrorists” opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Rafah — causing no injuries — and that troops had struck another group approaching them in Khan Younis.
The military warned it would “continue to operate to remove immediate threats.”
Palestinians in Rafah told Reuters they heard explosions and heavy gunfire, while witnesses in Khan Younis reported a wave of airstrikes and Israeli tank fire near the town of Abassan.
Hamas, for its part, is trying to claim it is sticking to the peace deal.
Its armed wing said it remained committed to the ceasefire “in all areas of Gaza” and claimed it was unaware of any clashes in Rafah.
It said the area was under Israeli control and that “communication with all groups there had been cut off since March.”
“Therefore, we have no connection to any events taking place in those areas, and we cannot communicate with any of our fighters there, if any of them are still alive,” the terror group added.
The Hamas-run media office accused Israel of 47 ceasefire violations since the deal was signed.
It claimed violations included “direct shooting at civilians” and “deliberate shelling.”
Both sides are trading blame, but Israel insists it was Hamas that shattered the truce first.
It comes as the United States warned that Hamas is plotting an “imminent” attack on civilians in Gaza, in what it said would be a serious breach of the ceasefire deal.
The State Department said on Saturday it had “credible reports” that the terror group was preparing a fresh assault against Palestinians, describing it as a “direct and grave violation” of the US-brokered truce.
“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” the department said.
The stark warning comes as evidence mounts that Hamas is refusing to abide by the peace agreement it signed last week — a deal that required it to disarm, release hostages and halt all attacks.
Instead, Hamas has continued executing Palestinians in public and is now accused of planning new violence against the very people it claims to represent.
President Donald Trump, whose 20-point plan brought nearly two years of bloodshed to an end, issued a blunt threat: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not part of the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”
As tensions mount, preparations have been under way for the second phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Azerbaijan has reportedly joined Indonesia in pledging troops to an Egypt-led international stabilisation force that could be deployed to Gaza, with UN Security Council authorisation expected in the coming days.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance will travel to Israel on Monday for talks on Gaza’s future governance.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15368254/israel-hamas-ceasefire-jets-strikes/