Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered"strong action against terrorist targets" in Gaza, nine days after the ceasefire went into effect, without clarifying whether this marks the end of the ceasefire. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, stated this Sunday that they maintain their"full commitment" to the ceasefire in all areas of the Gaza Strip, and disassociated themselves from attacks against the Israeli army in the south of the territory.

"Following Hamas's violation of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Netanyahu held a consultation with the Defense Minister and the heads of the security establishment, and ordered vigorous action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip," his office said in a statement.

This morning, crossfire broke out between militants and the Israeli army in Rafah, south of the enclave, after the former launched"an anti-tank missile and gunfire" at the troops in the area, according to a military statement, which described the incident as"a flagrant violation" of the ceasefire agreement.

"In response, the Army began bombing the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel entrances and military structures used for terrorist activity," the statement said.

Hamas's military wing said it was not aware of"any incident or clash" in Rafah, in southern Gaza, which it described as a"red zone" under Israeli control, and noted that contact with the remnants of its units in that area has been cut off since the resumption of the offensive in March of this year.

For its part, the Radea force, a police unit under the Hamas Interior Ministry, said it had carried out this morning"a security operation" in Rafah against a hideout of Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the rival militia known as 'Popular Forces'.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that if Hamas militants continue to commit what Israel considers violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,"the intensity" of retaliatory attacks will only increase.

"Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shot fired and every ceasefire violation. If the message is not understood, the intensity of our response will intensify," Katz threatened in a statement carried by the Israeli press.

"Renaissance War"

The Israeli government cabinet on Sunday voted by a large majority to change the name of its offensive in Gaza from "Iron Swords" to "Renaissance War," a move viewed with skepticism in the Israeli press and coinciding with a series of Israeli bombings in Gaza that are calling into question the current ceasefire.

According to The Times of Israel, the change was supported by most members of the government, with the exception of Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli (of Likud, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party) and National Projects Minister Orit Strock (of Religious Zionism, the party of far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich).

"Today I am presenting to the government the proposal that the war be given the permanent official name of 'Renaissance War.' After two years of continuous fighting, we remember how we began. We rose from the terrible disaster of October 7," Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting, according to a transcript released by his office.

The name change involves correcting it in official state documents, military decorations, and future historical references, reports the daily Yedioth Ahronot. According to The Times of Israel, the entire process could cost around 2 million shekels (just over €500,000).

According to the Israeli press, some politicians and families of the captives in Gaza view the name change with skepticism and criticism, in an apparent attempt to cover up the political and military failure that many see in the attack of October 7, 2023. At that time, Gazan militants managed to infiltrate Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping another 251.

In a comparison to the Yom Kippur War, which also began with a surprise attack and took place in October 1973, an analysis by the progressive daily Haaretz states:"None of the cabinet members then imagined calling a war that began with a grave diplomatic and intelligence failure, and ended with unprecedented military achievements, a 'renaissance war.'"

Yedioth Ahronot, for its part, asserts that the Netanyahu government had been trying to find a name since the beginning of the Gaza offensive that"would emphasize the historical and national dimension of the conflict."

"There will be no rebirth for Israel until trust is restored between the people and their leaders (elections and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to determine the truth and restore trust)," wrote right-wing politician Gadi Eisenkot of the National Unity party on the social network X on Saturday.

The US accuses Hamas of planning a"ceasefire violation."

The United States warned on Saturday that it has "credible reports" indicating that Hamas is planning "an imminent violation" of the ceasefire it signed with Israel through an attack against the Palestinian people.

"This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and serious violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the important progress achieved through mediation. The guarantors demand that Hamas comply with its obligations under the ceasefire," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The US government added that it had informed the guarantor countries of the ceasefire about this impending violation and warned that"if Hamas continues with this attack," it will take measures to protect the population in Gaza and preserve the truce signed on October 9.

Israel agreed to cease bombing in the Strip on Thursday of last week, nearly two years after the conflict began following Hamas attacks in the Jewish state, which left 1,200 people dead and 250 kidnapped.

The ceasefire involved the release of all hostages by Hamas, as well as the cessation of hostilities, despite the fact that the Hamas government in Gaza accused Israel today of having violated the truce 47 times.

The agreement signed by Hamas and Israel establishes that the truce covers the entire Gaza Strip and that the Israeli army must withdraw to the"yellow line", but that does not mean that the ceasefire does not apply after it, although the Israeli army has invoked self-defense and threats to its troops to fire at Palestinians in that area.

More than 67,000 people died during two years of Israeli bombing of the Strip, an act that international organizations and experts described as genocide.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that, as of last Wednesday, 190,000 tons of aid had been authorized by Israeli authorities and were in the process of entering Gaza.

However, Gazans are still waiting for the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt to open to people, which according to the Israeli press is being delayed by Israel in response to Hamas's delay in handing over the bodies of the remaining hostages.

Israel says Hamas delivered"two coffins of deceased hostages" from Gaza

Israel received, through the Red Cross, the coffins containing the remains of two deceased hostages, which were handed over to a joint unit of the Israeli Army and the Internal Security Service (ISA) inside the Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister's Office reported in a Telegram post on Sunday.

"The remains will be transferred to Israeli territory, where a military ceremony led by the army's chief rabbi is planned. They will then be taken to the Ministry of Health's National Center for Forensic Medicine for identification and analysis," the report states.

Hamas has not reported who the bodies it handed over belong to, and so far, the Islamists have returned eleven bodies.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's press office urged the public to"act with sensitivity and await official identification, which will first be communicated to the families of the deceased hostages." He also emphasized that they should "respect the families' privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and unofficial and unverified information."